The United Kingdom’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Wednesday resigned from her post, taking responsibility for having mistakenly sent a sensitive official document from her personal email ID to a fellow MP.
She said that the document was a draft Written Ministerial Statement about migration, and much of it had already been briefed to parliamentarians. “Nevertheless, it is right for me to go,” she said.
Braverman said that as soon as she realised her mistake, she reported it on official channels and informed the Cabinet Secretary about it. “As Home Secretary, I hold myself to the highest standards and my resignation is the right thing to do,” she said.
The Conservative MP from Fareham said that it is “obvious to everyone” that the government is going through a tumultuous time.
“I have concerns about the direction of this government,” she said in her resignation letter. “Not only have we broken key pledges that were promised to our voters, but I have had serious concerns about this Government’s commitment to honouring manifesto commitments, such as reducing overall migration numbers and stopping illegal migration, particularly the dangerous small boat crossings.”
Later in the day, Prime Minister Liz Truss said that she respected Braverman’s decision and accepted her resignation.
Some of Braverman’s supporters questioned the need for her to resign over email. A Northern Ireland minister, Steve Baker, said that while the use of personal email technically broke rules, such communication with other MPs on policy matters was perfectly normal, according to The Guardian.
Grant Shappe, the MP from Welwyn Hatfield, took over as the new home secretary on Wednesday. “The security of the British people will always remain our first duty,” he said.
The resignation of Braverman came five days after Truss fired Finance Minister Kwasi Kwartengamid the growing economic crisis in the country.
Truss had announced tax cuts and investment incentives to boost the United Kingdom’s economy on September 26. The decision had led to a loss of investor confidence as the bond market faced a setback and borrowing costs surged.
After Kwarteng’s resignation, his successor Jeremy Hunt reversed almost all of the tax measures in the new Growth Plan that have not been legislated in Parliament.
On October 18, Truss apologised for the measures she had announced on September 26. “I wanted to act to help people with their energy bills and to deal with the issue of high taxes, but we went too far and too fast,” she said.
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