British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fired Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Monday, a government source said, as part of a wider reshuffle after she criticized the police's handling of a pro-Palestinian march.
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Reports of the dismissal come after Braverman has in recent weeks aligned herself alongside Israel. In an article published last week in The Times, she claimed that the pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Britain since the outbreak of the war had turned into "hate marches." She also accused police of being too soft on left-wing protesters compared to right-wing protesters. Braverman's critics said the article she wrote increased tensions and encouraged right-wing activists to take to the streets and confront pro-Palestinian protesters. They called on Sunak to remove the senior minister from her post.
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Home Secretary Suella Braverman with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
(Photo: James Manning/Pool Photo via AP)
Under fire from opposition lawmakers and members of his own governing Conservative Party to eject Braverman, Sunak moved against his Home Secretary, asking her "to leave government" which she accepted, the source said.
James Cleverly was appointed to the position of Home Secretary in Braverman's place. Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron was appointed to replace James Clevery as Foreign Secretary in a return to government.
Opposition Labor politicians said Braverman's statements about the police inflamed tensions at a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Saturday.
More than 140 people were arrested after far-right counter protesters skirmished with police, who tried to keep them away from the 300,000 pro-Palestinian marchers.
The British politician is the daughter of parents of Indian origin and is married to a Jewish man, Rael Braverman, who used to live in Israel. Braverman defined her husband as a "proud Jew and Zionist" and said that he has relatives who served in the IDF.
Sunak is expected to carry out a wider number of changes in his cabinet, bringing in allies and removing some ministers who his Downing Street office say have not been performing as well as he wanted in their departments.