James Cleverly has vowed to criticise police in private in a veiled swipe at Suella Braverman, who was sacked after she accused Metropolitan Police chiefs of bias in their handling of the pro-Palestine protests.
In his first speech to police chiefs, the newly appointed home secretary said he would “back” police forces and be critical where needed but he would do so “professionally, calmly, directly so that we always maintain that professional working relationship”.
Addressing chiefs at a policing summit in London on Thursday, he said: “I think you can have a relationship that has challenge, and demands excellence and professionalism, without having to be in a relationship of conflict. The two are not inextricably linked.
“And that is why, you will know for those of you who have worked with me before, my instinct is always to praise in public, to criticise in private.
“If your officers and your staff respond to that style of working I genuinely believe that we can maximise the work that we do on behalf of the British public. That is my aim.”
Mr Cleverly was appointed after Ms Braverman’s exit from the Home Office on Monday morning, with former Tory prime minister David Cameron named as his replacement as foreign secretary in a shock appointment.
Former home secretary Suella Braverman outside her home in, Bushey, Hertfordshire following her sacking by the Prime Minister— (PA)
Tory HQ said Mr Sunak was undertaking a reshuffle to “strengthen his team in government to deliver long-term decisions for a brighter future”.
At one point in his speech on Thursday, Mr Cleverly appeared to briefly forget his new job title, referring to “his team at the Foreign Office” before correcting himself, adding: “Old habits die hard.”
The reshuffle came after Ms Braverman sparked outrage by accusing the Met of favouritism for allowing a pro-Palestine protest to go ahead on Armistice Day, opening her up to claims that she incited violent protests by far-right thugs at the Cenotaph at the weekend.
No 10 did not approve the final text an incendiary op-ed for The Times Ms Braverman wrote accusing the Met of “playing favourites”, with Mr Sunak’s officials’ requests for changes ignored by the home secretary.
Describing pro-Palestine demonstrations as “hate marches”, she wrote: “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.”
Ms Braverman also claimed “there is a perception that senior police officers play favourites when it comes to protesters”, before claiming some current police officers have also complained about a “double standard”.
Speaking at the same policing summit on Thursday, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper branded Ms Braverman’s “attacks” on police as a “total disgrace”.
She said “a spiral of disrespect” cannot be allowed to develop between the government and the police, adding the prime minister was “irresponsible” for putting “public and theatrical pressure on the Met Commissioner” over the protests.
