Suella Braverman was under unprecedented fire on Wednesday over her "hate march" and homeless "lifestyle choice" remarks including a double slap-down from a senior Tory London MP.
Nickie Aiken, Conservative MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, tore into the Home Secretary's comments.
Asked on BBC Radio 5 Live's Nicky Campbell show whether she agreed with Ms Braverman's claim that some homeless people are on the streets living in tents as a "lifestyle choice," she said: "No, I didn't.
"We have to be very, very careful about the language we use as politicians."
Ms Aiken, a deputy chair of the Conservative Party, added: "Having been responsible for rough sleeping policy in Westminster when I was a councillor, I have met scores of rough sleepers over the years and I can't recall one of them telling me it was a lifestyle choice."
She stressed that the vast majority of homeless people on the streets were there due to mental health problems and drug addiction.
She also spoke out against tents on the streets as they "entrench" the lives of very vulnerable people and can be used for sexual abuse including rape and drug abuse and dealing.
Ms Aiken also rejected Ms Braverman's description of pro-Palestinian demonstrations as "hate marches".
She said: "I do not believe she is right on that."
Pressed why the Cabinet minister had used these words, she added: "I'm not here to apologise for the Home Secretary.
"They are not hate marches.
"These are marches of tens of thousands of people in the main who have got good intentions who want to show that the Palestinian people have been forgotten...and that has allowed Hamas to rise to power.
"There is always going to be a minority of people who want to ruin it for everybody else and hold beliefs that are not recognised in this country, are not accepted in this country, and we have to deal with those."
She added that the organisers of the pro-Gaza march on Armistice Day this weekend had changed the timing and the route, so as not to disrupt any remembrance events, but still urged them to "pause" and think about what they were planning.
Earlier on Wednesday, a third Cabinet minister refusedto back Ms Braverman's claim that some people living in tents on the streets of Britain are doing so as "lifestyle choices".
Health Secretary Steve Barclay stressed instead that he was particularly working with Tory colleagues to help homeless veterans in London and other parts of the UK.
Asked whether he agreed with Ms Braverman's "lifestyle choice" comment, he told Times Radio: "What we are committed to doing is getting the number of rough sleepers down and we are making progress on that.
"Certainly my focus within the Department of Health in particular is the programme that we have to tackle rough sleeping in terms of veterans."
He added that he believed the Home Secretary was referring to people who refused accommodation, but he stressed that they often have complex needs, such as mental health problems or drug addiction.
Earlier, senior Tories accused Ms Braverman of damaging “community cohesion” in Britain with her remarks on “hate marches” and homeless people living in tents.
Centrist Conservative MP Richard Graham unleashed stinging criticism of the Home Secretary.
The Gloucester MP, who is a Trade Envoy for the Prime Minister, tweeted: “Tone matters. It’s our duty to calm not inflame: to reduce, not increase, tensions.
“The language of the Home Secretary whether on tents or on marches is unhelpful to cohesion in our communities and is not in my name: nor does it reflect how we tackle issues in Gloucester.”
His message on X was picked up by former Tory Cabinet minister Baroness Warsi who said: “Thank you Richard.
“So many colleagues on our benches are disturbed by this - not all are brave enough to speak out yet - but change will come & we will return to being a one nation Party in the centre right -my concern is how much damage will have by then been done to (the UK) & party.”
She has accused the Home Secretary of being “dangerous & divisive and her MO (modus operandi) is to damage not heal”.
Ms Braverman was hit with a backlash after branding pro-Palestinian demonstrations as “hate marches”.
Downing Street has shied away from repeating the claim, though, argued that some people were displaying “hate” in the protests where there have been some arrests.
The Home Secretary has become increasingly isolated on her view that some homeless people live on the street in tents in “lifestyle choices”.
On Tuesday, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk became the second Cabinet minister to distance themselves from her comment.
No10 has also refused to repeat her language.
Asked on Sky News if he would use Ms Braverman’s words, Mr Chalk said: “No, I wouldn’t, I would take a different approach.
“It’s the case of course that there will be some people who declined support from the local council.
“But there’s often a very significant context, which will be a mental health issue, a substance abuse problem, relationship breakdown, loss of a job and so on...that needs to be weighed in the balance.”
He argued, however, that Ms Braverman was making the point that steps that “entrench” rough sleeping should be avoided.
“If you do that, effectively you are condemning and consigning people to poorer health outcomes and I’m afraid in some cases even shorter life expectancies," he added.
“So, to be kind you sometimes have to be robust.”
His comments came after Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho said on Monday regarding Ms Braverman’s “lifestyle” comment that she “would not have used necessarily those words”.
She stressed that the Home Secretary was not talking about people who often had “very complex needs,” including possibly mental health issues, and might refuse accommodation.
Ministers were said to have been considering including in the King’s Speech a civil offence to fine charities found to have given tents to rough sleepers.
In a post on X, Ms Braverman tweeted that the state would always support those who are genuinely homeless.
“But we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice,” she said.
But the founder of The Big Issue magazine Lord John Bird said: “We need grown-up thinking rather than responding to the issue with a policy that infers homelessness is a law and order offence, which Suella Braverman is doing here.”
