“Rishi Sunak was weighing up last night whether to sack Suella Braverman after the Conservative Party descended into open warfare over her claim that police are “playing favourites” with protesters. The home secretary defied Downing Street’s instructions to tone down an incendiary article for The Times in which she compared Saturday’s pro-Palestinian Armistice Day rally to sectarian marches held in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. No 10 said that it was attempting to “establish the detail” of how the article was published without formal approval amid claims that Braverman had breached the ministerial code. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have called for her to be sacked.” – The Times
Editorial, Comment, and Sketches:
>Today:
“Tory tribes gather in WhatsApp groups nowadays and Suella Braverman’s allies are in one devoted to Home Office affairs. They are in meltdown. Had the Home Secretary just gone rogue? Had she really just defied No 10 in accusing the Metropolitan Police of bias? Panicked politicians asked her advisers to confirm, but there was no answer. Rumours about her being fired started to swirl. It didn’t take long for this to mutate into a full Tory rift. Her Tory enemies urged action: surely this is an outrage too far? Perhaps she was daring Sunak to sack her and is trying to pose as the Home Secretary who stood up for British values when he would not. If so, he should not accept such insubordination. Best fire her – and reshuffle the Cabinet on Monday.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Britain’s top civil servant accused Rishi Sunak of “totally outrageous” behaviour during the pandemic, according to WhatsApp messages released by the Covid inquiry. Simon Case also suggested that Boris Johnson was rabid and unable to “retain the tiniest shred of information”. He was conversing in a series of frustrated messages with his predecessor, Lord Sedwill, who himself hit out at Matt Hancock. Dame Priti Patel, who was home secretary at the time, gave evidence at the inquiry and complained about the Department of Health’s “sub-optimal” approach to changing Covid rules at the last minute. She acknowledged that rules barring protests were “unenforceable” and that £10,000 fines for breaching Covid restrictions were disproportionate.” – The Times
“Boris Johnson has said Rishi Sunak is a “stooge” put in place by his former senior adviser Dominic Cummings, according to the former cabinet minister Nadine Dorries. Johnson said: “I heard that Cummings has said he started to plot to get rid of me in January 2020. The plot was always to get Rishi in. I just couldn’t see it at the time. It’s like this Manchurian candidate, their stooge.” Johnson’s attack on Sunak was made in a series of interviews with his staunch ally Dorries for her book The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson, which was published on Thursday. Cummings was sacked by Johnson in late 2020 after a bitter falling-out between the two men. Johnson also said the Conservatives were “drifting into defeat” under Sunak.” – The Guardian
>Today:
“The Supreme Court will rule next week on whether the Government’s plan to deport migrants to Rwanda is lawful. Five justices will hand down their judgment after the Home Office challenged a ruling by the Court of Appeal that the £140 million deal was unlawful. If the Home Office wins, the first deportation flights to Rwanda could happen as early as the new year. The plans have been blocked since last summer, when the European Court of Human Rights issued an injunction halting the first flight until the legality of the policy had been determined by the UK courts. If the Home Office loses, it is likely to prompt demands from within the Conservative party for the UK to quit the European Convention on Human Rights.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel does not seek to conquer, occupy or govern Gaza after its war against Hamas, but a “credible force” would be needed to enter the Palestinian territory if necessary to prevent the emergence of militant threats. Netanyahu suggested earlier this week that Israel would be responsible for Gaza security indefinitely, drawing pushback from the United States, Israel’s main ally. Speaking on Fox News on Thursday, the Israeli prime minister said: “We don’t seek to conquer Gaza, we don’t seek to occupy Gaza, and we don’t seek to govern Gaza.” Netanyahu said a civilian government would need to take shape in the territory but that Israel would make sure the Hamas attacks of 7 October do not happen again.” – The Guardian
“Sir Keir Starmer will have to order MPs to abstain on a vote over a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas or he will “destroy” Labour, party insiders are warning. They have told i that if he fails to do so as many as 10 shadow Labour ministers may have no choice but to resign because of the looming Parliamentary vote on the ceasefire. MPs with significant Muslim populations in their constituencies are deeply concerned over the party’s stance backing a humanitarian pause to get aid into Gaza and hostages out rather than pushing harder for a ceasefire. The SNP said it intends to seek a vote on its King’s Speech amendment on Wednesday… Several insiders suggested the Labour leader would order his MPs to abstain on the vote…” – The I
“Nigel Farage is in advance talks with I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here bosses after saying that he was giving the offer from ITV “very, very serious consideration”. The former UKIP leader is close to signing a deal, potentially worth up to £1 million with the television producers…ITV, maker of the reality television show, is understood to have been asking him to be a contestant for several years. His appearance on the show would follow Matt Hancock’s participation in the series last year, where he finished in third place. Former cabinet secretary Nadine Dorries, ex-Conservative MP, Edwina Currie and Stanley Johnson, Boris Johnson’s father and the former MEP, have also all taken part in the show.” – The Times
>Yesterday: