Rishi Sunak says he has no regrets over appointing Suella Braverman as home secretary

Jump to contentSign up to our newslettersSubscribeNewsSportsVoicesCultureLifestyleTravelPremiumRishi Sunak says he has no regrets over the appointment of Suella Braverman as home secretary six days after she resigned from the same job for misconduct. The prime minister said his cabinet minister had “taken accountability” by resigning before he reappointed her to the role less than a week later.He has come under increasing pressure over the decision, amid opposition accusation he appointed someone unfit for the job to win her support in the brief Tory leadership election.Asked whether he regretted the appointment, he told broadcasters on a visit to a south London hospital: “No, as I have said, she’s accepted her mistake and learned from it, and I’m confident of that.”Mr Sunak also declined to deny suggestions that officials had warned him against reappointing Ms Braverman.He said she “raised” the issue with him before he gave her the job, which oversees the UK’s borders, police, and counter-terrorism, as well as the criminal law.Asked about the reports while speaking to broadcasters at Croydon University Hospital, he said:”The home secretary has acknowledged the mistake, she’s recognised she made a mistake, she’s taken accountability for that and that’s the right thing.”Now, as I said in Parliament earlier this week, she raised this topic with me when I discussed reappointing her as home secretary and I’m confident that she’s learned from her mistake.”Ms Braverman stepped down from the role under prime minister Liz Truss after it emerged she had emailed sensitive documents from her personal email address. The documents reportedly went to a backbench Tory MP and a person who the home secretary believe was his wife, but who was actually a parliamentary assistant for another MP, who raised the alarm about the leak.Speaking to reporters on Friday, Labour leader Keir Starmer accused Mr Sunak of doing a “grubby deal” in exchange for backing him against rival Penny Mordaunt.”I’ve been director of public prosecutions, I know how important it is for the home secretary to be trusted because others have to share documents with her,” he told broadcasters.”To be sacked last week for a breach of security and now be put back in place as home secretary is an act of weakness from the prime minister.”He should sack her – that would be the strong thing to do.”98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay’s Galleria in central LondonPAA meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichmentPAKing Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new governmentPARishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative PartyReutersThe Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market’s annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemicPASculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the ‘Planet A’ Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire townPABritain’s Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignationAFP/GettySalmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migrationPAJust Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the groupPAHundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator’s Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in FifePAA protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction RebellionAFP/GettyA member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a “Just Stop Oil” protest, in London, BritainREUTERSGermany’s Women’s double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, PembrokeshirePAFamily and mourners arrive at St Michael’s Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on FridayPAMotorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colourPAA woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrisePAPolice officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, LondonPAA drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, LondonPATimothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, LondonPATwo young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublin’s Phoenix park as rutting season beginsPAThe Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern IrelandPAGreenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conferencePAPrime Minister Liz Truss and Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in BirminghamAFP/GettyBritish artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist’s trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodlesPAErling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City’s second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. 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City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil.Action Images/ReutersMembers of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in LondonAFP via Getty ImagesMembers of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on MondayPAThe first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on MondayPACrowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough CastleGettyCrowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth IIKatielee Arrowsmith/SWNSMembers of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through BallaterAFP/GettyBritain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain’s Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor CastleAFP/GettyKing Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham PalaceGettyA screen commemorating Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London BritainEPAPolice officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, BritainReutersOpposition Liberal Democrat chief Ed Davey this week claimed Ms Braverman had been given the name “Leaky Sue” by officials on Whitehall on account of her approach to data security. It was also reported earlier this week that she had been probed in January as part of a Cabinet Office leak inquiry, which was inconclusive. In her resignation letter, Ms Braverman said she had “rapidly reported” her “mistake” through the official channels, though the Sunday Times newspaper reported that it was in fact Simon Case, the head of the civil service, who had raised the concerns. Downing Street has since denied reports that top civil servant Mr Case was “livid” about the return of Ms Braverman to the cabinet after just six days.Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalismBy registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalistsAlready have an account? sign inRegistration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalismBy registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalistsAlready have an account? sign inSuella BravermanRishi SunakHome SecretaryPrime Minister Rishi Sunak speaking on Friday (Leon Neal/PA)PA WirePlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in