The Home Secretary exerts great influence over matters of policing, national security and immigration. Never more so than at times of heightened community tensions, she or he must act in favour of the public good. Suella Braverman fell short of that expectation.
Indeed, commenting after the protests that took place in London over the weekend, assistant Met commissioner Matt Twist appeared to suggest, without naming names, that Braverman made the job of the police more difficult following her comments about pro-Palestinian marches in an article that No 10 said it did not sign off on.
Braverman is now free to campaign for the job she truly desires, that of Conservative Party leader, from the backbenches. She must do so without the trappings of office, with her colleagues in full knowledge that the Prime Minister thought, albeit belatedly, that she was not suitable for high office. That is not an especially promising prospectus on which to run.
Her departure makes room for one of the most extraordinary political redemption stories in modern times, that of David Cameron to the Foreign Office. A liberal, pro-European Tory, his presence around the Cabinet table illustrates the slow but tangible shift in the Government’s relationship with the EU.
Cameron is a former election-winning prime minister with all the experience and gravitas that this confers — Rishi Sunak will be hoping his return to British politics will be the message of reassurance many disenchanted Tory voters are looking for. Time will tell.
Stop this antisemitism
The right to protest — to take to the streets in favour or opposition to a policy, government or war — is a cherished one. And rightly so — Britons have fought and died so we today can enjoy those freedoms. But that liberty does not extend to violence, nor to hate.
On Saturday, the streets of London bore witness to appalling scenes of violence from a far-Right mob and disgusting antisemitism from some pro-Palestinian marchers. The addition of protesters from Right-wing groups no doubt made the Met’s job of policing on the day far harder. Indeed, nine officers were injured, two requiring hospital treatment.
Yet it has become ever-clearer that the marches have some within their ranks who are primarily there not to oppose war but to propagate hatred, whether calling for “Death to all the Jews” or carrying explicitly antisemitic posters. Let us be clear: the right to peaceful protest does not extend to racism, let alone calls for genocide.
Many in London’s Jewish community are afraid to head into central London or even use the transport network at weekends. Their concern is understandable. It is time for the Prime Minister, the new Home Secretary and the Met Commissioner to immediately clamp down on thosecommitting these revolting acts.
