Rishi Sunak has ‘full confidence’ in Suella Braverman after controversial Times article, Number 10 says
Rishi Sunak has “full confidence” in his home secretary, Suella Braverman, despite her controversial article about pro-Palestinian marches.
This morning, Number 10 said it would “update further” after looking into the “details” surrounding the home secretary’s article in The Times, but insisted Mr Sunak still had “full confidence” in her.
However, in an afternoon briefing to journalists, the prime minister’s official spokeswoman had nothing further to add, bar reiterating support for his cabinet colleague and her team.
In her piece for the newspaper, Ms Braverman accused the police of “playing favourites” with how it handles controversial protests by showing a more lenient attitude to left-wing protesters than their right-wing counterparts.
She also ramped up her attacks on those attending pro-Palestinian demonstrations, likening them to those in Northern Ireland – comments that were branded “wholly offensive” and “ignorant” by one former Tory cabinet minister.
Mr Sunak is under pressure to sack Ms Braverman over her remarks, which critics believe were aimed at undermining the operational independence of and public confidence in the police.
Politics latest: Tory MP claims Braverman ‘on mission to get herself sacked’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer labelled her “divisive” and accused her of “stoking up tension” but claimed the prime minister was “too weak to say anything about it”.
Sir Keir said the home secretary is “undermining the police as they go into a very difficult set of operational decisions”.
He added: “She is doing the complete opposite of what I think most people in this country would see as the proper role of the home secretary.”
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Tory MP Caroline Nokes told the Politics Hub the home secretary ‘could have thought more closely before she used the language that she did’
Downing Street earlier revealed it did not clear Ms Braverman’s article for publication.
It is understood the article was sent to Number 10 for approval. But despite Downing Street suggesting changes to the home secretary, they were not made before the piece was published.
“The content was not agreed by Number 10,” a spokesman for the prime minister confirmed to reporters.
He also would not say whether Mr Sunak agreed with the language used by his home secretary.
“The prime minister continues to believe that the police will operate without fear or favour,” they added.
Pat McFadden, Labour’s shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that according to the ministerial code, interventions have to be cleared by Number 10.
Ministers who breach the code have traditionally been expected to offer their resignation.
In a letter to Mr Sunak, Mr McFadden wrote: “To say that the article was not cleared and then do nothing about it would strip you of all authority over the home secretary and leave her free to continue to do and say whatever she likes without fear of sanction from you.
“This would be a display of weakness and an extraordinary situation in which to leave your government.”
This afternoon, the PM’s official spokeswoman declined to say whether there was any breach of the code.
In The Times op-ed, the home secretary once again described pro-Palestinian protesters as “hate marchers” and added: “I do not believe that these marches are merely a cry for help for Gaza.
“They are an assertion of primacy by certain groups – particularly Islamists – of the kind we are more used to seeing in Northern Ireland.
“Also, disturbingly reminiscent of Ulster are the reports that some of Saturday’s march group organisers have links to terrorist groups, including Hamas.”
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‘Is PM too weak to sack Braverman?’
In a rebuke to the Metropolitan Police, which is allowing a pro-Palestinian march to go ahead on Armistice Day, Ms Braverman also wrote: “Unfortunately, there is a perception that senior police officers play favourites when it comes to protesters.
“During COVID why was it that lockdown objectors were given no quarter by public order police yet Black Lives Matter demonstrators were enabled, allowed to break rules and even greeted with officers taking the knee?
“Right-wing and nationalist protesters who engage in aggression are rightly met with a stern response yet pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behaviour are largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law?”
Read more:
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The home secretary’s long list of controversies
One former Tory cabinet minister told Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby Ms Braverman’s comments were “wholly offensive and ignorant of where people in Northern Ireland stand on the issues of Israel and Gaza”.
“It would be good to know what she knows about what Northern Ireland people think about the current Israel-Palestine situation before she casts aspersions,” they said.
In response, the Met Police said they would “not be commenting at this time”.
Earlier this week its commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, confirmed that the demonstration on Saturday would go ahead because the “legal threshold” to stop it on security grounds “had not been met”.
Labour was joined by the Liberal Democrats in calling on Mr Sunak to sack Ms Braverman, with party leader Sir Ed Davey accusing Ms Braverman of “putting police officers in harm’s way”.
“The home secretary’s irresponsible words and foul actions have significantly increased the likelihood of unrest this weekend and the risk of violence towards officers,” he said.
Hong Kong police arrested 12 people involved in a cross-border money laundering scheme that relied on crypto and over 500 stooge bank accounts to launder HK$118 million ($15 million), local news outlets reported.
The syndicate was dismantled on May 15, resulting in the arrest of nine men and three women in mainland China and Hong Kong.
The suspects allegedly recruited others to open bank accounts to receive proceeds from fraud cases, which were then converted into crypto at crypto exchange shops to launder the illicit funds, Hong Kong Commercial Daily reported on May 17.
The criminal organization rented a residential unit in the Hong Kong neighborhood of Mong Kok to plan and carry out its money laundering activities. Of the $15 million laundered, more than $1.2 million was linked to 58 reported fraud cases.
Caught in action
The bust followed police surveillance on May 15, when two recruits left the syndicate’s Mong Kok base — one visiting a bank, the other an ATM — before both went to convert the cash into crypto at a crypto exchange shop in the neighborhood of Tsim Sha Tsui.
Police arrested both individuals on the spot, seizing around HK$770,000 ($98,540) in cash before the funds could be laundered. The other 10 individuals, aged between 20 and 41, were arrested soon after.
Police seized approximately HK$1.05 million ($134,370) in cash, over 560 ATM cards, multiple mobile phones, bank documents and records related to crypto transactions.
Senior Inspector Tse Ka-lun of Hong Kong’s Commercial Crime Bureau claimed that the individuals often used bank accounts from their friends and family to launder the stolen funds.
Hong Kong reported a 12% year-on-year increase in fraud reports in 2024, with authorities making more than 10,000 fraud-related arrests. Of those arrests, around 73% involved individuals who held stooge bank accounts.
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The crackdown comes as Hong Kong continues to roll out its crypto regulatory framework to support local innovation, protect consumers and establish itself as a crypto hub.
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission introduced new rules for crypto exchanges offering staking services in April. Two months earlier, the securities regulator rolled out a roadmap to improve market access, optimize compliance, expand product offerings, strengthen crypto infrastructure and foster relationships with industry players.
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Politics
Keir Starmer says closer EU ties will be good for UK jobs, bills and borders ahead of key talks
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
Moody’s credit rating agency downgraded the credit rating of the United States government from Aaa to Aa1, citing the rising national debt as the primary driver behind the reduction in creditworthiness.
According to the May 16 announcement from the rating agency, US lawmakers have failed to stem annual deficits or reduce spending over the years, leading to a growing national debt. The rating agency wrote:
“We do not believe that material multi-year reductions in mandatory spending and deficits will result from the current fiscal proposals under consideration. Over the next decade, we expect larger deficits as entitlement spending rises while government revenue remains broadly flat.”
The credit downgrade is only one degree out of the 21-notch rating scale used by the company to assess the credit health of an entity.
Despite the negative short to medium-term credit outlook, Moody’s maintained a positive outlook on the long-term health of the United States, citing its robust economy and the status of the US dollar as the global reserve currency as strengths, reflecting “balanced” lending risks.
Related: Asia’s wealthy shifting from US dollar to crypto, gold, China: UBS
Investors react to Moody’s US credit revision
Moody’s announcement drew mixed reactions from investors and market participants, leaving many unconvinced by the agency’s revised outlook.
Gabor Gurbacs, CEO and founder of crypto loyalty rewards company Pointsville, cited the rating agency’s previous credit assessments during times of financial stress as unreliable, signaling that the outlook was too optimistic.
“This is the same Moody’s that gave Aaa ratings to sub-prime mortgage-backed securities that led to the 2007-2008 financial crisis,” the executive wrote in a May 17 X post.
However, macroeconomic investor Jim Bianco argued that the recent Moody’s credit outlook does not reflect a real downgrade in the perception of US government creditworthiness and characterized the announcement as a “nothing burger.”
US government debt surpassed $36 trillion in January 2025 and shows no signs of slowing, despite recent efforts by Elon Musk and others to reduce federal spending and curtail the national debt.
As the debt climbs and investors lose faith in US government securities, bond yields will spike, causing the debt service payments to go up, further inflating the national debt.
This creates a vicious cycle as the government will have to entice investors with ever-greater yields to incentivize them to purchase government debt.
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