Tory peer urges Sunak to distance party from Braverman’s ‘racist rhetoric’

Suella Braverman has come under fire after she said British-Pakistani men were of special concern in relation to grooming gangs. Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/AP

A senior Conservative peer has urged Rishi Sunak to distance the party from Suella Braverman’s “racist rhetoric” or risk ruining his legacy as the first Asian prime minister.

Sayeeda Warsi, the first Asian person to chair the Tory party, said Braverman’s ethnic origin has “shielded her from criticism for too long”, claiming Conservatives had been “hesitant to hold an ethnic minority MP to account in the same way they would a white MP”.