LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday fired controversial Interior Minister Suella Braverman, as he begins a reshuffle of his top cabinet.
Sunak’s office confirmed that Foreign Minister James Cleverley will replace Braverman. In a shock move, former Prime Minister David Cameron was announced as the new foreign minister.
Braverman drew widespread criticism last week after printing an op-ed in The Times newspaper that ignored guidance from Downing Street and accused London police of political bias in policing protests.
The home secretary has long been a contentious figure. She resigned from the same job under Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss due to a serious breach of the ministerial code, after she sent an official document from a personal email.
Braverman has repeatedly referred to pro-Palestine marches in London as “hate marches.” In the letter to The Times, she said that the protests were “disturbingly reminiscent” of past scenes in Northern Ireland — comments widely condemned as both incendiary and inaccurate.
A number of far-right groups clashed with police in London following her remarks, which were criticized as undermining confidence in police ahead of a substantial protest on Armistice Day on Saturday.
CNBC has reached out to the U.K. government for comment.
The U.K. has formally endorsed Israel’s right for self-defense following the harrowing terror attacks carried out by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Oct. 7. Sunak has since backed calls for a humanitarian pause in Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which has claimed thousands of Palestinian lives.
Late last month, Conservative frontbencher Paul Bristow was sacked as ministerial aide at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology after urging Sunak in a two-page open letter to demand a permanent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
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