LONDON
British Home Secretary Suella Braverman is “out of control,” the leader of the main opposition Labour Party said Thursday, while claiming that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is “too weak to do anything about it.”
“This isn’t the way in which a home secretary should behave,” said Keir Starmer, speaking to reporters.
Starmer’s remarks came after Braverman wrote an article for The Times newspaper in which she accused the Metropolitan Police of “playing favorites” when it comes to dealing with protesters ahead of a pro-Palestinian march on Saturday that coincides with Armistice Day.
“Unfortunately, there is a perception that senior police officers play favorites when it comes to protesters…Right-wing and nationalist protesters who engage in aggression are rightly met with a stern response, yet pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behavior are largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law? I have spoken to serving and former police officers who have noted this double standard,” she wrote.
Braverman earlier depicted the scheduled pro-Palestinian demonstration, which will call for a cease-fire over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, as “a hate march.”
In her controversial piece, which sparked criticism, she labeled the demonstrators as “hate marchers,” adding: “I do not believe that these marches are merely a cry for help for Gaza.”
“They are an assertion of primacy by certain groups — particularly Islamists — of the kind we are more used to seeing in Northern Ireland,” she wrote.
Sunak was reportedly urged to sack Braverman, while Paul Scully, the minister for London, said the home secretary is fueling “hatred and division” with her comments.
He urged Braverman to focus instead on “dampening things down” and calming tensions,” according to The Times.
Meanwhile, Downing Street has confirmed that Braverman did not make their requested edits to her article, according to the BBC.
However, Number 10 said the prime minister has “full confidence” in Braverman.
