‘To be honest, you have failed’: Suella Braverman’s letter to ‘weak’ Rishi Sunak

Former UK home secretary Suella Braverman published a scathing resignation letter after being sacked by British prime minister Rishi Sunak yesterday.

Expressing pride at her record in the post, Suella Braverman wrote, “Despite you having been rejected by a majority of party members during the summer leadership contest and thus having no personal mandate to be prime minister, I agreed to support you because of the firm assurances you gave me on key policy priorities.”

These priorities were reducing illegal migration, measures to stop small boats crossing the channel, delivering the Northern Ireland Protocol and the Retained EU law legislation as they were a year ago, and issuing statutory guidance protecting biological sex.

But, “you have manifestly and repeatedly failed to deliver on every single one of these key policies,” she wrote accusing Rishi Sunak of a “betrayal of our agreement” and a “betrayal of your promise to the nation that you would do ‘whatever it takes’ to stop the boats”.

“Someone needs to be honest: your plan is not working, we have endured record election defeats, your resets have failed and we are running out of time,” she wrote.

Acknowledging that she “may not have always found the right words” to express her views, she has “always striven to give voice to the quiet majority that supported us in 2019”.

She added, “I will, of course, continue to support the government in pursuit of policies which align with an authentic conservative agenda.”

Earlier, Rishi Sunak addressed a weekly meeting with a pledge to “drive change”, a day after parachuting in former prime minister David Cameron as the new foreign secretary.

“Our purpose is nothing less than to make the long-term decisions that are going to change our country for the better. I know that this strong and united team is going to deliver that change for everybody,” Rishi Sunak said in his opening remarks to the new Cabinet.