Suella Braverman’s 14 biggest gaffes and controversies as Rishi Sunak urged to act

Suella Braverman is once again at the heart of controversy after it was claimed she asked civil servants to help her avoid getting points on her licence for speeding.

Rishi Sunak now faces calls to open an investigation into the Home Secretary, who last week brazenly planted the seeds for a leadership bid at a controversial ‘mad hatters’ conference.

Mrs Braverman is popular among Tory right-wingers, but remains a divisive figure across the rest of the party, and Mr Sunak was heavily criticised when he brought her back into the cabinet.

Just six days earlier she had been sacked by his flash-in-a-pan predecessor, Liz Truss, after she sent out an official document to a Tory backbencher on a personal email.

She has also been accused of using racist rhetoric by former Tory chairwoman Syeeda Warsi, and of putting forward “gimmick” legislation to stop small boats.

Here we look at some of Ms Braverman’s biggest controversies amid questions about her future.

The Home Secretary is at the heart of another headache for Rishi Sunak (

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PA) ‘Trying to avoid speeding points’

Mrs Braverman reportedly asked Home Office aides to help organise a one-to-one driving awareness course after being caught speeding last summer.

Officials refused the request, so she instead turned to a political aide to assist her in attempting to arrange an alternative to having to attend a course with other motorists.

The Sunday Times reported that multiple requests were made to a speeding awareness course provider by an aide, including asking if the senior Conservative minister could do an online course, but use an alias or have her camera switched off.

Mrs Braverman ultimately chose instead to accept three points on her driving licence.

Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper was among those demanding an investigation to see whether she breached the ministerial code.

Sacking for leaking documents There was a lot of surprise when Suella Braverman was reappointed (

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Lindsey Parnaby/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Mrs Braverman was sensationally sacked as Home Secretary last October after she breached the ministerial code by sending an official document to a Tory backbencher from a personal email.

Mrs Braverman, who had been in the role six weeks under Liz Truss, said she made a “mistake” which she conceded was a “technical infringement” of the rules.

But just six days later, despite promising a Government of “integrity and professionalism” Mr Sunak raised eyebrows by reappointing her to the role..

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats raised “national security” concerns and demanded a Cabinet Office investigation.

Outburst against “tofu-eating wokerati”

Just before being sacked, Mrs Braverman accused opposition parties of being a “coalition of chaos” when discussing the Public Order Bill to crack down on disruptive protests.

She told the Commons: “It’s the Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati, dare I say, the anti-growth coalition that we have to thank for the disruption that we are seeing on our roads today.”

Ms Cooper said Mrs Braverman’s words were “astonishing”, adding: “The home secretary actually talked about a coalition of chaos – we can see it in front of us as we speak.”

Email blaming civil servants for failures The Home Secretary was criticised over an email sent out from Tory HQ (

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PA)

In March, an email sent out to Conservative Party members in Mrs Braverman’s name blamed “an activist blob of left-wing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour Party” for blocking previous attempts to tackle illegal migration.

She was accused of potentially breaking ministerial rules by questioning the impartiality of public servants after the publication of the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill.

Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union which represents senior civil servants, said the email amounted to a “direct attack on the integrity and impartiality” of those working in the Home Office.

The Prime Minister’s press secretary told reporters Mrs Braverman “did not see, sign off or sanction” the email, which she said was sent in error.

Appearance at ‘mad hatters’ tea party’ Ms Braverman was a keynote speaker at the National Conservatism Conference (

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Getty Images)

The Home Secretary caused another headache for Mr Sunak last week when she delivered a keynote speech at a “mad hatters’ tea party” gathering in London.

She appeared at the National Conservatism Conference, where she appeared to be setting out her stall for a leadership bid.

During her speech she spoke about her parents’ arrival in the UK, while appealing to culture warriors.

The conference – although not organised by the Tories – has caused a lot of ill-feeling within Tory circles. Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock – who has had the Conservative whip withdrawn – warned that her “extremist” fanbase could tear the party apart.

Many Tories wisely gave this event a wide berth, and practically everyone else treated it with derision, Labour leader Keir Starmer dismissing it as a “series of mad hatters’ tea parties”.

His deputy, Angela Rayner, told the Commons it was a “Trump tribute act conference” and a “carnival of conspiracy”.

Asking if she could ‘claim speeding fine on expenses’

Mrs Braverman asked if she could claim a speeding fine on expenses, a Tory MP claimed in a scathing 2am Twitter rant.

William Wragg, the former chair of the Public Administration Committee, made the extraordinary claim in a series of tweets last month.

He wrote: “This evening, having kept quiet for a while, I was struck by the lamentable hopelessness of the Home Secretary, remembering particularly her first week or so as a Member of Parliament.”

He went on: “My clearest recollection of our Home Secretary’s legal acumen came from day one as an MP. We had a presentation from [expenses watchdog] IPSA.

“Her question to IPSA concerned whether a speeding ticket incurred during the course of parliamentary duties could be claimed on expenses.

“Rather embarrassed, the representatives from IPSA said no.”

William Wragg was scathing about Mrs Braverman (

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PRU/AFP via Getty Images) Saying she’s ‘obsessed’ with Rwanda plan

The Home Secretary attracted criticism when talking about migration during a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference in October last year.

Mrs Braverman said she would “love to be here claiming victory, I would love to be having a front page of the Telegraph with a plane taking off to Rwanda, that’s my dream, that’s my obsession”.

She said it would be “amazing” if the first UK flight carrying migrants to the African country could take off by Christmas, but added: “If I’m honest, I think it’s going to take longer.”

Not being aware of refugee killings in Rwanda

On the subject of Rwanda, Ms Braverman was last month confronted over the killings of 12 refugees in Rwanda after they joined a protest.

Despite the incident being referred to in Home Office documents and raised by Yvette Cooper months earlier in the Commons, she claimed to have been unaware of it.

The Home Secretary told the BBC it was safe to deport migrants to Rwanda under the Government’s controversial plan to halt the flow of small boats arriving in Britain.

But when challenged over the incident in 2018, she said: “I’m not familiar with that particular case.”

Labelling migrants as ‘invasion’ Mrs Braverman has been accused of using the language of the far-right (

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UK PARLIAMENT/AFP via Getty Imag)

The Home Secretary has repeatedly been told that her language around asylum seekers is provocative and hateful.

In October last year, in a speech to the House of Commons that was widely condemned, she referred to an “invasion” of the south coast.

It prompted claims that she was mimicking the language of the far-right.

The Refugee Council said: “To describe the serious and complex situation created by the asylum crisis as an ‘invasion’ is appalling, wrong and dangerous.

“These are men, women and children fleeing war, persecution and conflict.”

Putting trade deal with India at risk

Mrs Braverman is not famed for her diplomacy, and she was accused of fuelling tensions with India after saying an “open borders migration policy with India” wasn’t “what people voted for with Brexit.”

It happened as the UK was in talks with India over a new £24 billion trade deal – which has still not come to fruition – and her intervention is said to have undermined British negotiators

She said in October: “Look at migration in this country — the largest group of people who overstay are Indian migrants.

“We even reached an agreement with the Indian government last year to encourage and facilitate better co-operation in this regard. It has not necessarily worked very well.”

Clashes with Downing Street

On at least two occasions while Ms Truss was prime minister, she expressed views which put her at odds with Government policy.

Ms Braverman said she had “reservations” about relaxing immigration controls as part of any trade deal with India, telling the Spectator magazine she had “concerns about having an open borders migration policy with India because I don’t think that’s what people voted for with Brexit “.

Her comments were reported to have provoked a furious reaction from ministers and officials in New Delhi.

She also faced criticism from a senior Government source for calling on the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, who said: “Her personal views are contrary to Government policy and if she wishes to make those views known within Government she should do so in a more appropriate setting.”

Mrs Braverman was sacked as Home Secretary, only to be reappointed days later (

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AFP via Getty Images) Grooming gang comments

This is another occasion when Mrs Braverman has been accused of mimicking the far-right.

She singled out British-Pakistani men when talking about grooming gangs, despite Home Office figures finding white men under 30 are most common in child sexual exploitation cases.

The Home Secretary told Sky News: “What’s clear is that what we’ve seen is a practice whereby vulnerable white English girls, sometimes in care, sometimes who are in challenging circumstances, being pursued and raped and drugged and harmed by gangs of British Pakistani men who’ve worked in child abuse rings or networks.”

Joke about interior design in Rwanda The Home Secretary during a PR trip to Kigali in March (

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PA)

Mrs Braverman triggered a backlash after joking about seeking interior design advice while visiting migrant homes in Rwanda.

On a visit to an estate with newly constructed homes for migrants from the UK and local Rwandans, Ms Braverman said: “These houses are really beautiful, high quality, welcoming and I quite like your interior designer. I need some advice myself.”

But her comments drew accusations she was “playing politics with people’s lives and chasing cheap headlines” with the plan.

Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “This is a new low for Suella Braverman. She has already wasted taxpayers money on this pointless PR trip.

“Braverman is playing politics with people’s lives and chasing cheap headlines instead of doing her job properly.”

Confusion over legality of small boats bill

In March Mrs Braverman was laughed at in the Commons when she said she couldn’t make a “definitive statement” on whether her Illegal Migration Bill was legally sound.

She told MPs: “Our approach is robust and novel, which is why we can’t make a definitive statement of compatibility under… the Human Rights Act.

“Of course the UK will always seek to uphold international law and I am confident that this Bill is compatible with international law.”

But the bill, published on the government’s website, states: “I am unable to make a statement that, in my view, the provisions of the Illegal Migration Bill are compatible with the Convention rights, but the Government nevertheless wishes the House to proceed with the Bill.”

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