Cabinet reshuffle ‘has been discussed’ – as speculation mounts that Rishi Sunak could sack Suella Braverman
Speculation is mounting about the possibility of an imminent cabinet reshuffle by Rishi Sunak – one which could see Suella Braverman ousted as home secretary.
Sources have told Sky News’s deputy political editor, Sam Coates, that the possibility of a reshuffle has already been discussed.
“Until the formal confirmation of a reshuffle, we won’t know for sure whether Rishi Sunak intends to oust his home secretary on a charge, effectively, of disobedience,” he says.
“We do know, however, it has been discussed, and while we don’t know the resolution yet, one Whitehall source put the odds as high as 90% on Sunday afternoon that it would be a Monday.”
Sunak’s Braverman dilemma: What’s more important – being right or being strong?
Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman pictured during a meeting in April
Ms Braverman has been accused of heightening tensions with an article she authored last week in The Times, which accused the Metropolitan Police of having double-standards on how it polices different protests based on political affiliation.
Mr Sunak has faced calls from Labour to sack his home secretary following the article, while Downing Street is currently investigating how it was published without edits they had wanted to be made.
The prime minister appeared to play down any potential rift between him and Ms Braverman on Friday, saying he had “full confidence” in his home secretary.
However, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps refused to say, when asked, whether Ms Braverman would remain in post in a week’s time.
Instead, he told Sky News’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that a “week is a long time in politics” and that he would not be making any predictions.
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‘A week is a long time in politics’
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On Sunday night, Ms Braverman doubled down on calls for more action to be taken against pro-Palestine protesters.
In a series of posts on X (Twitter), Ms Braverman said “further action is necessary” against the protests, which were resulting in “the streets of London… being polluted by hate, violence, and antisemitism”.
The home secretary paid tribute to officers, saying “our brave police officers deserve the thanks of every decent citizen for their professionalism in the face of violence and aggression from protesters and counter-protesters in London yesterday”.
“That multiple officers were injured doing their duty is an outrage.”
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It was a marked contrast to last week, when she accused the Metropolitan Police of holding “double standards” on how it polices protests.
She added: “The sick, inflammatory and, in some cases, clearly criminal chants, placards and paraphernalia openly on display at the march mark a new low. Antisemitism and other forms of racism together with the valorising of terrorism on such a scale is deeply troubling.”
Some have accused Ms Braverman of inflaming tensions, leading to more people descending on the capital.
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‘The govt made it harder for police’
More than 140 people were arrested in the disorder, both on the pro-Palestinian side and the far-right counter-protest side.
The Met Police’s deputy assistant commissioner, Laurence Taylor, said the force faced a “really challenging day” dealing with the protests.
A judo Olympian has said her family is “devastated” after the discovery of body in the search for her missing brother.
Lubjana Piovesana, 28, appealed for help to find her younger sibling, Luis, 26, on Saturday. He had not been seen since the early hours of Friday morning.
A body was found in the River Frome near Napier Road in Eastville, Bristol, at around 6pm today, Avon and Somerset Police said.
Formal identification is yet to take place, the force added.
In a post on Instagram, Ms Piovesana wrote: “Hello everyone, Luis has been found.
“We are completely devastated but he has passed away.
“I am grateful for everyone’s support. And I am so sorry this happened.
“Luis was my little brother and loved by everyone. I wish he could have seen the love from everyone. He will be remembered by us all.”
The post was signed off with a dove emoji.
Luis Piovesana did not have any money or his mobile phone with him when he went missing, police said. Pics: Avon & Somerset Police
Mr Piovesana was last seen at around 3am on Friday at the Eastgate retail park, which is less than a 10-minute walk away from where the body was found.
He had travelled there by taxi from a venue in Little Ann Street, St Jude’s, a 10-minute drive away.
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The 26-year-old’s family spent the weekend searching for him, and asked people to check their sheds and gardens.
His partner, Laurin Bohler, said loved ones had travelled from Birmingham to help.
Mounted officers and police drones were also involved in the investigation.
Ms Piovesana competed for Team GB before switching to the Austrian team, and defeated British competitor Lucy Renshall in the women’s -63kg judo event at the Paris Olympics last year.
A man has been jailed for life for murdering his son’s girlfriend after she returned home from the school run.
Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police were called to an address on Bigyn Road in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, on 5 July last year.
Sophie Evans, 30, had sustained 72 separate injuries on the outside of the body, “all but three of them new injuries”.
Richard Jones, who is now 50, believed he was “being taken advantage of financially” by Ms Evans and his son, with whom she was in a relationship.
While the purpose of Jones’s visit was “purely normal”, he confronted her on that morning about his suspicions and Ms Evans’s reaction was such that Jones “lost [his] temper”.
He subjected Ms Evans to “gross violence” before ultimately strangling her and leaving the property to run errands, including ordering a new bank card and buying pastries from a bakery.
Richard Jones. Pic: Dyfed-Powys Police
‘Last time on their school run’
During sentencing on Monday, the defendant kept his head bowed for most of the hearing.
He will have to serve at least 20 years behind bars before he can be considered for release by the parole board.
Swansea Crown Court heard Ms Evans was the mother of two young children.
Passing his sentence, Judge Geraint Walters said Ms Evans “had just taken her two children for the last time on their school run” prior to the attack.
“She wasn’t to know that when she parted company with them that morning,” he added.
The court heard the Jones believed he was being defrauded by Ms Evans and his son.
“There is clear evidence, that in the days leading up to this, that you had begun harbouring thoughts that Sophie Evans and your own son were in fact financially scamming you,” he said.
“What precisely brought about that view is difficult to determine.”
Judge Walters said Jones “lost [his] temper when [he] didn’t get the answer that [he] thought [he] deserved”.
He added that, having lost his temper, the defendant “subjected [Ms Evans] to gross violence over a period of time, before you ultimately extinguished her life by strangulation”.
The court was told in evidence that at the time of the attack, Ms Evans was wearing only a bath towel.
‘The rock of our family’
In a victim personal statement, Ms Evans’s sister Kerry Quinlan told the court she was “the rock of our family”.
She said Ms Evans was taken from them in a “senseless and cruel act”.
“Words cannot express fully how much of a loss this has been to her children,” she added.
“When they cry themselves to sleep wanting their mum, she isn’t there and never will be.”
Ms Quinlan added that Jones had “taken everything from us, all in the most despicable way possible”.
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Ms Evans’s partner at the time, and the defendant’s son, Jamie Davies, said in a victim personal statement, read on his behalf, that they had both “trusted” Jones, and that Ms Evans had even been planning the defendant’s 50th birthday.
“The thought of having to live my life without Sophie causes me extreme pain and heartache,” he added.
Prosecuting, Michael Jones KC said the offence was aggravated by the defendant’s previous convictions and the fact Ms Evans was murdered in her home.
In mitigation, David Elias KC said there was a “lack of premeditation”.
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