Suella Braverman savages Rishi Sunak in damning new statement on his failings

Suella Braverman has published a lengthy letter this evening tearing chunks out of Rishi Sunak and accusing him of "betrayal" over key policies.

The letter accuses the Prime Minister of failure and says his "plan is not working".

It says: "We have endured record election defeats, your resets have failed and we are running out of time. You need to change course urgently.

"I may not have always found the right words, but I have always striven to give voice to the quiet majority that supported us in 2019. I have endeavoured to be honest and true to the people who put us in these privileged positions."

Her letter, which runs to three pages, is Ms Braverman’s first substantive response since being sacked as Home Secretary yesterday morning.

It sets out in detail, for the first time, that Ms Braverman only accepted Mr Sunak's offer to become Home Secretary last year as part of a four-point deal: namely to reduce overall legal migration; exclude stop the boats legislation from the remit of the ECHR; deliver the Northern Ireland Protocol and Retained EU Law Bills in their existing form; and issue unequivocal statutory guidance to schools that protects biological sex and single-sex spaces.

Ms Braverman says she trusted the Prime Minister to see through all four points of their agreement, however over the past year has been "met with equivocation, disregard and a lack of interest".

She continues that if the Government loses its Rwanda case tomorrow, Mr Sunak will have "wasted a year and an Act of Parliament, only to arrive back at square one".

She says: "Worse than this, your magical thinking - believing that you can will your way through this without upsetting polite opinion - has meant you have failed to prepare any sort of credible 'Plan B'.

"I can only surmise that this is because you have no appetite for doing what is necessary, and therefore no real intention of fulfilling your pledge to the British people."

The former Home Secretary also attacks Mr Sunak’s remaining authority, pointing out he only became Prime Minister thanks to her support: "It is generally agreed that my support was a pivotal factor in winning the leadership contest".

Ms Braverman goes on to slam the Prime Minister for failing to take a tougher stance on “increasingly vicious antisemitism and extremism displayed on our streets”.

She said: “I have become hoarse urging you to consider legislation to ban the hate marches and help stem the rising tide of racism, intimidation and terrorist glorification threatening community cohesion.

“Britain is at a turning point in our history and faces a threat of radicalisation and extremism in a way not seen for 20 years.

“I regret to say that your response has been uncertain, weak and lacking in the qualities of leadership that this country needs.

“Rather than fully acknowledge the severity of this threat, your team disagreed with me for weeks that the law needed changing.

“As on so many other issues, you sought to put off tough decisions in order to minimise political risk to yourself.

“In doing so, you have increased the very real risk these marches present to everyone else.”

It's understood this is not the last Suella Braverman will have to say about her sacking, and will make a personal statement in the Commons tomorrow.

Responding to her letter, senior Tory backbencher Sir Simon Clarke called the letter "devastating".

He said: "I hope the Government wins tomorrow’s Supreme Court case.

"However, win or lose, how the Government then proceeds will be a litmus test of whether it is serious about fixing the wholly unacceptable scale of illegal immigration, or simply talking about it.”

Fellow Tory MP Sir Michael Fabricant has called her letter "an indictment listing all the charges".

But a Number 10 spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister was proud to appoint a strong, united team yesterday focused on delivering for the British people.

“The Prime Minister believes in actions not words. He is proud that this government has brought forward the toughest legislation to tackle illegal migration this country has seen and has subsequently reduced the number of boat crossings by a third this year. And whatever the outcome of the Supreme Court tomorrow, he will continue that work.

“The PM thanks the former Home Secretary for her service."