Suella Braverman accused of ‘sowing the seeds of hatred’, as pressure remains for her to resign
Suella Braverman has been accused of “sowing the seeds of hatred” by Sir Keir Starmer after her comments about the police and pro-Palestinian marches.
The Labour leader took aim at the home secretary after she branded pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including one which took place on Saturday in central London, “hate marches” and accused the police of “double standards” in the way they handle protests.
Sir Keir said few people in public life had “done more recently to whip up division, set the British people against one another and sow the seeds of hatred and distrust than Suella Braverman”.
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“In doing so, she demeans her office,” he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.
Bringing the prime minister into view, Sir Keir said Ms Braverman and Rishi Sunak’s treatment of the police and protesters showed a “lack of respect for this country’s values and its principles” after the pair urged police to ban the Armistice Day demonstration.
It follows calls from numerous senior political figures for Ms Braverman to resign, after they blamed her for violence that broke out in the capital.
On Saturday, a total of 126 people were arrested in London.
This included 92 people who were arrested in Pimlico, central London. The Metropolitan Police said they were part of a large group of counter-protesters who tried to reach the main pro-Palestinian march in the capital.
Police later said the arrests included a number of pro-Palestine protesters who were detained after a group broke away from the main demonstration.
The demonstrators were wearing face coverings and firing fireworks, some of which struck police officers in the face, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said.
Suella Braverman is facing pressure to resign
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the scenes of disorder were a “direct result of the home secretary’s words”, adding that the police’s job had been made much harder as a consequence.
While shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper called for “calm”, with a swipe at Mrs Braverman for fuelling tensions.
“Everyone must reflect on the impact of their words and actions. It is the responsibility of all of us to bring people together over this weekend, not divide and inflame,” she posted on social media.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was one of those in attendance at the march.
Addressing crowds from on top of a fire engine near Vauxhall, he said Mr Sunak and Ms Braverman’s attempt to stop the march from going ahead has been “shamed”.
“It seems that there’s one million of us here today in London showing our solidarity with the people of Palestine, so Suella Braverman and Rishi Sunak’s attempt to stop this has been shamed for what it is,” he said.
“They should be ashamed also (of) their vote on the United Nations when they wouldn’t even support a call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Shame on them.”
Ms Braverman asserted that she had given police her “full backing” at a meeting with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley on the eve of Armistice Day.
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Despite this, Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf said the far-right had been “emboldened” by Ms Braverman in a post on X.
He wrote: “The far right has been emboldened by the home secretary. She has spent her week fanning the flames of division. They are now attacking the police on Armistice Day.
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Thousands gather for pro-Palestinian march
“The home secretary’s position is untenable. She must resign.”
Nine officers were injured as they prevented a crowd of mainly “football hooligans” reaching the Cenotaph, with Mr Twist calling their “extreme violence” towards the police “extraordinary and deeply concerning”.
Officers later clashed with protesters from both sides in Chinatown and Victoria station.
Mr Twist said “a week of intense debate about protest and policing” helped “increase community tensions”.
‘Rishi Sunak is responsible’
On Friday, Mr Sunak maintained “full confidence” in his home secretary, even after some ministers had already distanced themselves from her after she claimed some people were homeless as a “lifestyle choice”.
He defied calls from Labour and the Liberal Democrats to sack Ms Braverman, but there has been speculation that a ministerial reshuffle could see the home secretary moved.
Layla Moran, a Liberal Democrat MP who has family in Gaza, said the blame for any trouble caused by far-right groups lay with Mr Sunak.
Pro-palestinian protesters march across central London
“As the police in central London work to contain the far-right, and everyone starts to blame Suella Braverman, just remember who chose to not only give her the job but also chose not to sack her,” she wrote on Saturday.
“Rishi Sunak is as, if not more, responsible for what happens today”.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper and SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn are appearing on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips from 8.30am today.
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Making Britain better off will be “at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind” during her visit to China, the Treasury has said amid controversy over the trip.
Rachel Reeves flew out on Friday after ignoring calls from opposition parties to cancel the long-planned venture because of market turmoil at home.
The past week has seen a drop in the pound and an increase in government borrowing costs, which has fuelled speculation of more spending cuts or tax rises.
The Tories have accused the chancellor of having “fled to China” rather than explain how she will fix the UK’s flatlining economy, while the Liberal Democrats say she should stay in Britain and announce a “plan B” to address market volatility.
However, Ms Reeves has rejected calls to cancel the visit, writing in The Times on Friday night that choosing not to engage with China is “no choice at all”.
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The chancellor will be accompanied by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and other senior executives.
She will meet with her counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Beijing on Saturday to discuss financial services, trade and investment.
She will also “raise difficult issues”, including Chinese firms supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns over constraints on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, the Treasury said.
But it did not mention whether Ms Reeves would raise the treatment of the Uyghur community, which Downing Street said Foreign Secretary David Lammy would do during his visit last year.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. Pic: AP
On Friday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the trip, telling Sky News that the climbing cost of government borrowing was a “global trend” that had affected many countries, “most notably the United States”.
“We are still on track to be the fastest growing economy, according to the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] in Europe,” she told Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast.
“China is the second-largest economy, and what China does has the biggest impact on people from Stockton to Sunderland, right across the UK, and it’s absolutely essential that we have a relationship with them.”
Read more – Ed Conway analysis: The chancellor’s gamble with China
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Nandy defends Reeves’ trip to China
However, former prime minister Boris Johnson said Ms Reeves had “been rumbled” and said she should “make her way to HR and collect her P45 – or stay in China”.
While in the country’s capital, Ms Reeves will also visit British bike brand Brompton’s flagship store, which relies heavily on exports to China, before heading to Shanghai for talks with representatives across British and Chinese businesses.
It is the first UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) since 2019, building on the Labour government’s plan for a “pragmatic” policy with the world’s second-largest economy.
Sir Keir Starmer was the first British prime minister to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping in six years at the G20 summit in Brazil last autumn.
Relations between the UK and China have become strained over the last decade as the Conservative government spoke out against human rights abuses and concerns grew over national security risks.
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How much do we trade with China?
Navigating this has proved tricky given China is the UK’s fourth largest single trading partner, with a trade relationship worth almost £113bn and exports to China supporting over 455,000 jobs in the UK in 2020, according to the government.
During the Tories’ 14 years in office, the approach varied dramatically from the “golden era” under David Cameron to hawkish aggression under Liz Truss, while Rishi Sunak vowed to be “robust” but resisted pressure from his own party to brand China a threat.
The Treasury said a stable relationship with China would support economic growth and that “making working people across Britain secure and better off is at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind”.
Ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “By finding common ground on trade and investment, while being candid about our differences and upholding national security as the first duty of this government, we can build a long-term economic relationship with China that works in the national interest.”
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