The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday appointed Conservative Party MP Suella Braverman as the country’s home secretary.
Braverman returned to the post six days after resigning from it under former prime minister Liz Truss’ administration.
The MP from the Fareham constituency said that she was honoured to be appointed to the post. “We will work hard to control our borders, maintain our security and keep our streets safe,” she said.
On October 19, Braverman had resigned as the home secretary, taking responsibility for having mistakenly sent a sensitive official document from her personal email ID to a fellow MP.
In her resignation letter to Truss, she had said that it was “obvious to everyone” that the government was going through a tumultuous time.
“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,” Braverman had said.
A day later, Truss herself announced her resignation as prime minister amid criticism of her handling of the country’s economy and a rebellion within her own party about her authority.
Commenting on Braverman’s appointment, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper alleged that Sunak was already putting party before country.
“The home secretary was forced to resign less than 1 week ago for ministerial code breach/security lapse – and still lots of unanswered questions on breach,” Cooper, who is an MP from the Labour Party, said. “Yet Rishi Sunak reappointed her. How on earth is this the ‘integrity and professionalism’ he promised just five hours before?”
Former chairperson of the committee on standards in public life Alistair Graham said that normally, the prime minister would have consulted a ministerial advisor for advice on whether to re-appoint Braverman, The Guardian reported.
“A breach of the ministerial code is seen as a serious matter and would make any minister an inappropriate appointment to one of the four most senior positions in government,” he said.
On Wednesday, Sunak defended his decision, saying that Braverman had made an error of judgement, according to the newspaper.
“The home secretary made an error of judgment but she recognised that she raised the matter and she accepted her mistake,” Sunak said in the British Parliament. “Braverman will be focused on cracking down on criminals, and defending our borders.”
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