Nick Robinson praised for brutal takedown of Suella Braverman

“Isn’t the truth you’re a headline-grabber who does it by spreading poison, even within your own party?”

BBC journalist Nick Robinson has been praised for his brutal takedown of former Home Secretary Suella Braverman this morning, after he confronted her for being a ‘headline grabber, who does it by spreading poison’.

Braverman appeared on the Today Programme this morning after making a personal statement in the Commons yesterday where she launched a scathing attack on Sunak over his policies following her sacking.

She told the Commons that the Conservative party faces “electoral oblivion in a matter of months” unless ministers block all human rights laws used to halt deportation flights to Rwanda.

Braverman also focused on small boat crossings, claiming tens of thousands of “mostly young men – many with values and social mores at odds with our own” were “pouring” into the UK, with many not “genuine refugees but economic migrants”.

Appearing on the Today Programme, Robinson told Braverman: “When you’re on the radio and the television, Suella Braverman, you talk about substance, you talk quite reasonably. When I ask you questions about tough language, you sort of laugh at me as if I’m the one talking about a Conservative death wish.

“You’ve condemned the leader of your party as uncertain, weak and lacking in leadership, you’ve said he never had any intention of keeping his promises, you’ve accused him of betrayal and wishful thinking.

“You’ve attacked lawyers, judges, civil servants, the head of the Metropolitan Police, people who are worried about deaths in Gaza, you’ve attacked the homeless, you’ve attacked migrants as being part of an invasion.

“Isn’t the truth you’re a headline-grabber who does it by spreading poison, even within your own party?”

Braverman claimed that she was ‘merely being honest’. She said: “The truth is that when I served as home secretary I sought to be honest – honest to the British people, honest for the British people and sometimes honesty is uncomfortable.

“But I’m not going to shy away from telling people how it is and from plain speaking and if that upsets polite society then I’m sorry about that.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of billionaires or big business. Our campaigning, hard-hitting journalism depends on the kind and generous support of people like you.

Your support can fund more reporting, spread the left’s ideas to an ever bigger audience and hold the right to account. We can’t do this without you.

Donate today