Suella Braverman resigns as home secretary after sharing secure information from private email – and takes aim at Liz Truss in departure
Suella Braverman has resigned from Liz Truss’s government after sending an official document from her personal email – and has taken aim at the prime minister as she departed the Home Office.
In her resignation letter sent to the PM on Wednesday, the now former home secretary acknowledged she had breached government security rules, stating: “I have made a mistake; I accept responsibility; I resign.”
The former Conservative leadership candidate also expressed “concerns about the direction of this government”.
“Not only have we broken key pledges that were promised to our voters, but I have had serious concerns about this government’s commitment to honouring manifesto commitments, such as reducing overall migration numbers and stopping illegal migration, particularly the dangerous small boats crossings,” Ms Braverman wrote.
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Downing Street later confirmed that former transport secretary Grant Shapps has been appointed as home secretary.
Speaking outside the Home Office after his appointment, Mr Shapps acknowledged the “turbulent time for the government” and said he is looking forward to getting on with his new job “regardless of what’s happening otherwise in Westminster”.
Ms Braverman also emphasised in her letter to Ms Truss that “resignation is the right thing to do” when “a mistake” is made.
Her comments come as Ms Truss battles to cling on to the keys to Number 10, with a growing number of her own Conservative MPs calling for her to quit.
At Prime Minister’s Questions earlier on Wednesday, the PM made a public apology to MPs in her first Commons appearance since her economic plan was ditched by new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Monday.
“I have been very clear that I am sorry and that I have made mistakes,” she said.
“The right thing to do in those circumstances is to make changes, which I have made, and to get on with the job and deliver for the British people.”
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In her resignation letter, Ms Braverman said: “Earlier today, I sent an official document from my personal email to a trusted parliamentary colleague as part of policy engagement, and with the aim of garnering support for government policy on migration.
“This constitutes a technical infringement of the rules.”
Noting that it is “right for me to go”, she continued: “As soon as I realised my mistake, I rapidly reported this on official channels, and informed the cabinet secretary.
“As home secretary I hold myself to the highest standards and my resignation is the right thing to do.”
She added: “The business of government relies upon people accepting responsibility for their mistakes.
“Pretending we haven’t made mistakes, carrying on as if everyone can’t see that we have made them, and hoping that things will magically come right is not serious politics.”
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Responding to Ms Braverman’s letter, the PM said: “I accept your resignation and respect the decision you have made. It is important that the ministerial code is upheld, and that cabinet confidentiality is respected.”
Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker, who backed Ms Braverman in the summer Conservative leadership race, told Sky News he hopes the PM will bring her back into a cabinet role “in the New Year”.
Ms Braverman was only appointed by Ms Truss 43 days ago when she became PM in early September.
Her shock cabinet departure follows the sacking of chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng last Friday.
The prime minister made a last-minute cancellation of a trip out of Westminster on Wednesday.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the government is “falling apart at the seams”
“To appoint and then sack both your home secretary and chancellor within six weeks is utter chaos. This is no way to run a government,” Ms Cooper said.
She continued: “The problems go beyond one home secretary. If the Conservatives can’t even manage the basics they need to get out of the way and hand over to people who can.”
The Liberal Democrats described Ms Braverman’s exit as the latest in a “carousel of Conservative chaos”.
Comedy writer Bill Dare, – who worked on shows including Spitting Image and Dead Ringers – has died after an accident overseas, his agent said.
Described as a “super producer” by his peers, Dare, 64, worked on eight series of hugely popular satire puppet show Spitting Image.
Airing on ITV during the 1980s and 1990s, the show delighted in lampooning public figures including politicians, celebrities and royalty, winning BAFTAs and Emmys. It was rebooted in 2020.
Dare also created Dead Ringers, a comedy impressions show broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
He also produced The Now Show, a satirical take on the news which ran on Radio 4 from 1998 to 2024.
Dare worked on a wide range of comedy shows during his career, including the radio production of The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He had also written several novels.
In a statement released on Monday, his agent JFL Agency confirmed he died at the weekend.
A spokesperson said: “We are shocked and greatly saddened to have to announce the death of our brilliant client Bill Dare, who died at the weekend following an accident overseas.
“Our thoughts are with his wife Lucy, daughter Rebecca, and with all of Bill’s family and friends who will be devastated by his loss.
“Bill was a truly legendary producer and writer, and his comedy instincts were second to none.”
Oasis depicted on Spitting Image in 1996. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Colleagues were quick to pay tribute and reflect on his talent.
Impressionist Jon Culshaw wrote on X: “It’s impossible to express the unreal sense of loss at the passing of the incredible Bill Dare. The wisest comedy alchemist and the dearest, dearest friend. Much love to Lucy and all Bill’s family and friends. We shall all miss him more than we can say.”
David Baddiel posted on the social media platform: “Just heard that the original producer of The Mary Whitehouse Experience on radio, Bill Dare, has died. Bill was an amazing creative force. I owe him much. RIP.”
Former EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman said she was “devastated” and that her “entire comedy career was down to Bill”.
She wrote: “When I was on the BBC Radio 4 rep company early on in career – I ran into Bill in the corridors – He asked if I was good at accents. I said yes.
“He cast me in a sketch show. I had to do about 15 different accents. We recorded in front of a live audience at Broadcasting House – afterwards Bill said ‘Why have I never met you – you’re going to have a big career’.
“He was incredibly loyal and supportive and really opened a path for me into the R4 comedy world and then TV having come out of the RSC and theatre it was all new. I will always be grateful. Fly high Bill.”
Comedian and writer Mark Steel wrote: “This is so grim. Bill was a compassionate hearty soul with the ability to be beautifully grumpy, a marvellously thoughtful comic mind.
“He’d argue but always listen and you’d always laugh, he made a million shows and wanted them all to matter and would have made a million more.”
Have I Got News for You writer Pete Sinclair said: “I am utterly devastated by Bill’s death. I still can’t believe it. He was a comedy genius. A hugely talented writer as well as a brilliant producer. A close friend and co-writer. I cannot begin to say how much I’ll miss him.”
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Julia McKenzie, comedy commissioner for Radio 4, said: “I am so terribly sorry to hear this tragic news and my thoughts are with Bill’s wife, family and friends.
“Bill has been a huge part of Radio 4 comedy for decades, as a writer and producer, and listeners will have heard his legendary name at the end of many of their favourite shows.
“Bill was a comedy obsessive, and very instinctive about making the funniest choices when it came to writing, directing and editing.
“He cared so much about his work that in the production booth during Dead Ringers you’d see him crouched over the script, utterly focused on the show.
“He was funny and very dry in person, amusingly cynical when he needed to be and always pushed to keep the comedy he made, and particularly satire, spiky.
“I’ve known and worked with him for 18 years and like many I can’t believe he has gone, he will leave a big hole in the comedy world and in our hearts.”
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