Suella Braverman quits as UK home secretary; criticizes Liz Truss' govt in letter

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman

In what comes as another blow to Britain prime minister Liz Truss' government, Suella Braverman has left her job as home secretary.

In a letter, which the minister posted on her Twitter handle, Suella stated, "Earlier today, I sent an official document from my personal email to a trusted parliamentary colleague as part of policy engagement, and with the aim of garnering support for government policy on migration. This constitutes a technical infringement of the rules... Nevertheless it is right for me to go."

Mentioning the "tumultuous times" faced by the Truss' government and its policies, Braverman also wrote, "...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 boats crossings. "

Read the whole letter here:

My letter to the Prime Minister. pic.twitter.com/TaWO1PMOF2

— Suella Braverman MP (@SuellaBraverman) October 19, 2022

The Guardian was the first to report about Suella's resignation citing sources.

In a later official statement, it was confirmed that former transport minister Grant Shapps had been appointed interior minister in place of Braverman.

Braverman's departure marks the second of Truss's most senior ministers to be replaced in less than a week, after she sacked her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng on last Friday.

The outgoing minister had recently appeared in the news for hercontroversial remarks about India-UK trade ties, where she had  expressed "concerns" about the trade agreement last week, claiming that it will increase migration to the UK and that Indians made up the greatest proportion of visa overstayers.

She was reported as saying by The Spectator magazine, "I do have some reservations. Look at migration in this country – the largest group of people who overstay are Indian migrants." Moneycontrol had not been able to independently verify the news.

However, in an apparent effort to override her recent remarks, the UK minster had later said the UK is eager to secure a trade deal with India to boost both economies and that Brexit has meant that Britain no longer has a Eurocentric mindset towards trade or visas.

The minister had added that the UK's villages, towns and cities have been "profoundly enriched by immigration from India."

(With inputs from agencies)