UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday, November 13, sacked Interior Minister Suella Braverman. The cabinet reshuffle is likely today. It all happened as Sunak was under pressure to sack Braverman following her remarks against the Metropolitan Police over its handling of Israel-Hamas protests in London.

While Sunak's official spokesperson at 10 Downing Street has said that he has full confidence in Braverman, they did confirm that the contents of The Times' Op-Ed did not have the full clearance of her boss.

The harshly worded piece on Wednesday attacked the Met Police for having double standards and playing favourites by not taking tougher action against pro-Palestinian protesters when they turned aggressive. "The words that she used are not words that I myself would have used," UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told broadcasters when asked about the row.

The Opposition Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats and even some sections of Braverman's own Conservative Party called for her removal from office over her actions, which could be a breach of the ministerial code for ignoring prime ministerial approval before publication of an article.

Labour MP Darren Jones said the position she put forward in her Times article is "fundamentally in breach of her responsibility of being the Home Secretary" because it is for the police to decide operationally how to maintain order on our streets.

With inputs from agencies

First Published:Nov 13, 2023 2:28 PM IST