Rishi Sunak was urged on Thursday to sack Suella Braverman after she suggested the Met Police was biased after it refused to ban a pro-Gaza march on Armistice Day.
The Home Secretary was hit with a torrent of criticism from Tory, Labour and Liberal Democrat parliamentarians over her remarks which sparked accusations that she was threatening the operational independence of the police.
The Home Secretary accused police of “double standards” and “playing favourites” with protesters as a pro-Palestinian march on Armistice Day appeared set to go ahead despite Government objections.
Mrs Braverman claimed that “pro-Palestinian mobs” are “largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law”.
After police minister Chris Philp was summoned to the Commons to explain Ms Braverman’s remarks in The Times, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper probed: “Does this Government still believe in the operation independence of the police, and how can it do so while this Home Secretary is in post and did the Prime Minister and Number 10 agree to the content of this article?
“Because either the Prime Minister has endorsed this or he’s too weak to sack her.”
Mr Philp said there was a difference between “scrutiny” and “interference” in police decisions.
“I would like to reiterate that the police retain the confidence of the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary and I in using all their available powers both under terrorism legislation and public order legislation to prevent criminality and disorder and to prevent hate speech,” he added.
But Tory peer Lord Barwell, who was Theresa May’s chief of staff and a Croydon MP, tweeted: “I understand why @RishiSunak appointed @SuellaBraverman but it was a mistake.
“Every day she stays, she does more damage to the Government’s reputation, her colleagues’ prospects and more importantly the institutions she is responsible for. Time to get rid”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey added: “Rishi Sunak must finally act with integrity by sacking his out-of-control Home Secretary.”
Sadiq Khan also weighed in on Thursday, accusing Mrs Braverman of "dividing communities" and making the Met Police’s job harder after she claimed it was tougher on Right-wing protests than pro-Gaza demonstrations.
The Mayor of London slammed her allegations in an article for The Times as “inaccurate, inflammatory & irresponsible”.
He added on X, also known as Twitter: “At a time when we should be seeking to unite communities - she is dividing them.
“The Home Sec should support the police to keep everyone safe at this delicate time, not make their job harder.”The Government’s position on Ms Braverman’s comments was plunged into confusion after Transport Secretary Mark Harper was grilled on whether British Transport Police is biased, a suggestion that he rebuffed.
He then told Times Radio: “All police forces are focused on upholding the law without fear or favour. That is what they do.”
He had initially shied away from directly addressing Ms Braverman’s remarks, before contradicting her, whether on purpose or not.
There is now a pattern of the Home Secretary making controversial statements, which are not endorsed by other Cabinet ministers or No10, but raising suspicious that she is acting as a Government “outrider”.
Mr Harper insisted that the pro-Gaza march on Armistice Day would be “disrespectful” but that people had a right to protest peacefully.
Later on Sky News and LBC Radio he did not repeat his comment that the police act without fear or favour, instead stressing the need to focus on ensuring the protests are respectful and take place in a peaceful way.
Nickie Aiken, MP for the Cities of London and Westminster and deputy chair of the Conservative Party, told The Standard: “The Met have to police over 500 protests, marches or demonstrations in Westminster every year.
“I believe they do that without fear or favour.”
She added: “I have always been of the view the police should not get involved in politics and politicians should stay away from interfering with police operations.
“The Met Police have got a very, very difficult job…they have got to go on the intelligence and by the letter of the law.”
She acknowledged that the organisers of the pro-Gaza march on Armistice Day had moved its time and location, and it will not go near the Cenotaph, but still urged them to reconsider their plans while stopping short of asking them to call off the demonstration.
Tory MP Tim Loughton, who sits on the Commons home affairs committee, told The Standard: “The PM has rightly acknowledged the operational independence of the police in the way they carry out their duties to uphold the law.
"These unprecedented marches present them with huge challenges about keeping the public safe and limiting risks to officers whilst upholding the democratic right to free expression within the law.
"They have considerable experience of getting the balance right in difficult circumstances. It is difficult to see why the Home Secretary thinks she is better qualified to judge otherwise.”
Mr Sunak hauled in Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley for an emergency meeting about the march planned in London, saying he would hold the Scotland Yard boss “accountable” if there was trouble.
But the spotlight is now shifting onto the Prime Minister and whether he will rein in Mrs Braverman or effectively endorse her stances by failing to condemn them.
Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: "I think to be honest, the police have got enough to deal with without people like Suella Braverman using them as a cheap stunt in an attempt for her never-ending leadership campaign.
Right-wing and nationalist protesters who engage in aggression are rightly met with a stern response yet pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behaviour are largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law
"I simply cannot believe the Prime Minister has signed off this behaviour. But I can believe he might not have signed it off, and unfortunately he's too weak to sackher."
Sir Mark has faced pressure from senior Tories to ban Saturday’s march in London, but has said the law would only allow him to do so only in “extreme cases”.
Following their talks on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said the planned protest on Armistice Day is “not just disrespectful but offends our heartfelt gratitude to the memory of those who gave so much so that we may live in freedom and peace today” and “part of that freedom is the right to peacefully protest”.
But writing in The Times, Mrs Braverman said: “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. Also disturbingly reminiscent of Ulster are the reports that some of Saturday’s march group organisers have links to terrorist groups, including Hamas.”
Mrs Braverman claimed “there is a perception that senior police officers play favourites when it comes to protesters”.
She said: “Right-wing and nationalist protesters who engage in aggression are rightly met with a stern response yet pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behaviour are largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law?
“I have spoken to serving and former police officers who have noted this double standard.
“Football fans are even more vocal about the tough way they are policed as compared to politically connected minority groups favoured by the left.
“It may be that senior officers are more concerned with how much flak they are likely to get than whether this perceived unfairness alienates the majority. The Government has a duty to take a broader view.”
Mrs Braverman’s article is her latest high-profile intervention, with ministers in recent days seeking to distance themselves from some of her comments.
She has described the protests as “hate marches” and also claimed some people were homeless as a “lifestyle choice”.
Mr Sunak’s meeting with Sir Mark had appeared to ease some of the tension between the Government and the Met, before Mrs Braverman’s broadside.
Following his meeting with Sir Mark, Mr Sunak said police had confirmed the march will not be near the Cenotaph on Whitehall and timings will not conflict with remembrance events.
Suella Braverman is out of control. Her article tonight is a highly irresponsible, dangerous attempt to undermine respect for police at a sensitive time, to rip up operational independence & to inflame community tensions. No other Home Secretary of any party would ever do this
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) November 8, 2023
But the Prime Minister added: “There remains the risk of those who seek to divide society using this weekend as a platform to do so.
“That is what I discussed with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner in our meeting.
“The commissioner has committed to keep the Met Police’s posture under constant review based on the latest intelligence about the nature of the protests.”
There have been fears that breakaway groups from the main march and counter-protests by far-right groups could lead to violence.
Earlier, the Prime Minister said the Met chief had insisted he could “ensure that we safeguard remembrance for the country this weekend as well as keep the public safe”.
“Now, my job is to hold him accountable for that,” Mr Sunak said ahead of the meeting with Sir Mark.
Tory peer Lord Greenhalgh, a former deputy mayor for policing in London, suggested Mrs Braverman’s comments had crossed a line.
“I just don’t think that’s a reasonable way for a home secretary to behave,” he told BBC’s Newsnight.
He said she should “have the row in private” with the Met, rather than in the media.
The Met had urged march organisers to “urgently reconsider” the event on Saturday because of a growing risk of violence, but the pro-Palestinian coalition behind it have refused to call it off.
The force could request the power to ban the event under Section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986, but that would only apply if there was the threat of serious public disorder which could not be controlled by other measures.
The secretary of one of the groups behind the march, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, was working for Labour until this week, The Sun reported.
Ben Soffa had been the party’s head of digital organising, but he said he was now “off to explore new opportunities”.
A Labour source said: “We’re grateful to Ben for all his work for the party and wish him all the best for the future.”
The planned route for the London march goes from Hyde Park – about a mile from the war memorial in Whitehall – to the US embassy in Vauxhall, south of the Thames.
The Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, which will be attended by the King and Queen and other members of the royal family, will take place on Saturday.
Remembrance Sunday events will take place at the Cenotaph in Westminster the following day.
In an indication of the challenges faced by police, the Met said that since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, there have been 188 arrests involving hate crimes or linked to protests in London.
Commander Paul Trevers said: “This is a challenging time for communities in London.
“We continue to see a very concerning rise in both antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crime. This is absolutely unacceptable.”
