London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

Rishi Sunak defends return of Suella Braverman to Home Office

Rishi Sunak defends return of Suella Braverman to Home Office

Rishi Sunak has defended re-appointing Suella Braverman as home secretary days after she quit over data breaches.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the new PM of doing a "grubby deal" with Ms Braverman to secure her support in the recent Tory leadership contest.

He also asked if officials had raised concern over the appointment.

Mr Sunak avoided the question but argued bringing Ms Braverman back into cabinet brought "experience and stability" to government.

A No 10 spokesperson later denied reports that Simon Case - the head of the civil service - had been "livid" about the appointment.

Taking his first Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Sunak justified his decision telling MPs: "The home secretary made an error of judgment but she recognised that, she raised the matter and she accepted her mistake."

He hit back at the Labour leader, accusing the party of being "soft on crime and in favour of unlimited immigration".

Sir Keir pointed to his own experience as head of the Crown Prosecution Service adding: "I know first hand how important it is that we have a home secretary whose integrity and professionalism are beyond question.

"He's so weak, he's done a grubby deal trading national security because he was scared to lose another leadership election - there's a new Tory at the top but as always with them party first, country second."

The Liberal Democrats have also been critical of the appointment with the party's home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael saying: "A home secretary who broke the rules is not fit for a Home Office which keeps the rules."

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford accused the prime minister of doing "a sleazy backroom deal to shore up his own position".

Opposition parties are calling for investigations - the Liberal Democrats want an inquiry into Ms Braverman's appointment "including any promises Sunak made to her behind closed doors", while Labour wants one into possible security breaches by the home secretary.

Some Conservative MPs have also privately expressed their concern to the BBC about the decision.

During an urgent questions on the subject in Parliament, Labour MP Angela Eagle asked if an independent ethics adviser would investigate Ms Braverman's behaviour.

Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin replied that Mr Sunak did intend to appoint a new adviser - the previous holder of the role quit earlier this year - but added that "events in the last administration would not be properly part of the remit of the new independent adviser".

Ms Braverman stepped down last week amid the final days of Liz Truss's short-lived and chaotic premiership.

In her resignation letter, she admitted committing a "technical infringement" of the rules by sending an official document to someone not authorised to receive it.

"I have made a mistake; I accept responsibility; I resign," she wrote.

Her letter also hinted at disagreements with Ms Truss over immigration policy expressing concern that the government was not delivering on commitments to tackle illegal migration.

However, on his first day as prime minister Mr Sunak re-appointed Ms Braverman as home secretary.

It came three days after Ms Braverman had thrown her support behind him in the contest to replace Ms Truss, in what was widely seen as a significant endorsement by an influential MP on the right-wing of the Conservative party.

Asked if Ms Braverman had been given the job as a reward for supporting the new PM, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told the BBC Mr Sunak had strong support from MPs in the contest adding: "I doubt he needed any particular individual endorsement."

The row over Ms Braverman's new job, came as MPs on the Home Affairs Committee heard evidence on Channel crossings.

They had been due to hear from the immigration minister Tom Pursglove, but his appearance was cancelled after he lost his job in Tuesday's cabinet reshuffle.

Instead MPs heard from Dan O'Mahoney - the Home Office's clandestine Channel threat commander - who told the committee that 38,000 people have arrived in the UK so far this year in small boats - an increase compared to last year's figure of 28,526.

The committee also heard that around 93% of people arriving in small boats this year have claimed asylum. However, there is a backlog in processing claims and only 4% of applications from 2021 have been processed.

Mr O'Mahoney also noted there had been a huge increase in the number of Albanians arriving in the UK illegally - 21,000 in the UK this year, compared to 50 in 2020.


Starmer welcomes Sunak as the first British Asian prime minister, calling it a “significant moment"

Blackford says new PM Sunak did a "sleazy backroom deal" with Braverman to gain post


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
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
×