London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Attorney general Suella Braverman belongs to controversial Buddhist sect

Attorney general Suella Braverman belongs to controversial Buddhist sect

Founder of the Triratna order was accused of sex abuse; victim has spoken out about cabinet minister’s new role
The new attorney general is a member of a controversial religious sect which continues to venerate its founder despite well-documented claims that he was a serial sexual predator, the Observer can reveal.

Suella Braverman is a mitra – Sanskrit for “friend” – within the Triratna order, one of Buddhism’s largest sects, which has been rocked by claims of sexual misconduct, abuse and inappropriate behaviour.

Her appointment to succeed Geoffrey Cox was one of the biggest surprises in a dramatic cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, in which Sajid Javid resigned as chancellor.

Braverman declined to comment on her links with the order last night, but she is understood to attend the London Buddhist Centre, one of Triratna’s main hubs, once or twice a month.

Last week, one of its senior members, who goes by the Buddhist name Vishvapani, expressed his delight at Braverman’s appointment in a Facebook post above a prominent picture of the order’s late founder, Dennis Lingwood. The post was subsequently deleted.

Braverman’s position within the sect is likely to raise questions about her personal beliefs and whether this could affect her judgment as the government’s senior legal expert.

“The new attorney general must surely be aware of the long-standing allegations against the organisation,” said Mark Dunlop, a former follower, who said he had felt compelled to have sex with Lingwood over a four-year period.

Lingwood’s abuse of his position down the years has been well documented, with many male followers saying they were coerced into having sex with him. But the Triratna community continues to promote his teachings and life. Its websites feature many photographs of Lingwood and his writings and stress his centrality to Triratna. Lingwood, who took the Buddhist name Sangharakshita and died in 2018 aged 93, presided over a sexually licentious culture that influenced others in the sect.

Last year, the Observer published the findings of a report produced by nine members, who call themselves the Interkula, which found that of 423 Triratna followers who responded, 13%, said that either they, or someone they knew, had “experienced sexual misconduct by either Sangharakshita or other Triratna order members, in past and recent times”.

The report, which acknowledges that “some good progress” had been made in responding to the misconduct, states: “While many respondents described misconduct between a more experienced male OM [order member] and less experienced male mitra, as has been described many times in the past, other types of misconduct were also reported, including male order members becoming sexually involved with very vulnerable women … and inappropriate behaviour by a female order member.”

An order member of more than 15 years’ standing was quoted in the report as saying: “I know of several cases and the details are awful. They include alleged intervention on the part of one of the most high-profile OMs to try and encourage a victim not to testify to the police if questioned.”

The Buddhist Centre website, which promotes the Triratna community, acknowledges: “There has been controversy surrounding the past sexual activity of our founder, Urgyen Sangharakshita, and others”.

It observes: “Sangharakshita himself later made a statement of apology about his own past, endorsed by the Triratna college of public preceptors.”

In December 2016, Lingwood said: “I did not act in accordance with what my position in the movement demanded or even as a true Buddhist. I am thinking in particular of the times when I have hurt, harmed or upset fellow Buddhists, whether within Triratna or out of it.”

A spokeswoman for Triratna, who goes by the Buddhist name of Munisha, said: “I would like to make clear that Sangharakshita has never been accused, charged or convicted of any crime. In order to be quite sure of this, as Triratna’s overall safeguarding officer, I myself have discussed with the police his sexual relations, and they told me nothing they have ever been told was criminal.”

Braverman has also sparked controversy in legal circles. She has called for the UK to “take back control, not just from the EU but from the judiciary”, challenged the Human Rights Act, and complained that “judicial review has exploded since the 1960s”.

Simon Davis, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said: “The role of the judges is to give effect to the will of parliament, and the role of judicial review is to support parliament, not to undermine it.

“The article 50 and prorogation supreme court judgments were good examples of judicial support for parliamentary democracy. An independent judiciary is fundamental to the rule of law and underpins the UK’s reputation for fairness and impartiality.”

Amanda Pinto QC, chair of the Bar Council, said: “The independence of our judges is fundamental to ensuring the rule of law remains the foundation of our justice system. No one is above the law.

“The Bar Council expects the government to uphold the rule of law in this country. Both the attorney general and the lord chancellor have important roles in guaranteeing those principles are upheld.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×