MORE Conservatives have slammed the Home Secretary’s “racist rhetoric” and accused her of undermining her own party in order to further her leadership ambitions.
This comes after Tory peer Sayeeda Warsi hit out at a number of remarks made by Suella Braverman after it emerged the Home Secretary had criticised police for confiscating a series of golly dolls displayed in a pub.
Pressure is continuing to build with one former senior minister in Boris Johnson’s government telling The Guardian they believed Braverman was a “real racist bigot”.
The source said the "country is not as grotesque as she makes it out to be” and warned that the “Conservative reputation on discrimination has dropped to a new low” under Braverman’s watch.
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“Sunak needs to build upon foundations we already have – stop the culture wars and create change. But his inaction shows how insecure he is in his own ability”, they added.
Earlier this week, The Daily Telegraph reported that Sunak’s team were pushing to hold a General Election in late 2024 in hopes of a shock victory for the Conservatives.
This month, the Home Secretary singled out British Pakistani men while speaking about grooming gangs, whom she said, “hold cultural attitudes completely incompatible with British values”.
Last November, she said the small boats crossing the Channel amounted to an “invasion” of migrants.
The source, a former minister under Boris Johnson, added: “Suella’s comments pander to the unpleasant base instinct of a small section of the British population.
“She’s not stupid, she believes she has a licence to say these things because she’s not white. But all her language does is exacerbate hatred.”
The National previously spoke with a social psychologist who said that language used by Braverman fuelled confidence in the far-right.
Some MPs believe the Home Secretary’s comments are a deliberate attempt to appeal to Conservative members.
Another senior Tory told The Guardian: “The politics of this leadership plan stink.”
Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative chair of the defence select committee, said: “These comments – arguably designed to appeal to a specific political cohort – do not sit well with the new, pragmatic and cooperative approach which the Prime Minister is now injecting into Number 10 and is seeing us improve in the polls.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Home Secretary has been clear that all despicable child abusers must be brought to justice.
“And she will not shy away from telling hard truths, particularly when it comes to the grooming of young women and girls in Britain’s towns who have been failed by authorities over decades.
“As the Home Secretary said, the vast majority of British-Pakistanis are law-abiding, upstanding citizens, but independent reports were unequivocal that in towns like Rochdale, Rotherham and Telford, cultural sensitivities have meant thousands of young girls were abused under the noses of councils and police.
“That’s why we have announced a raft of measures, including a new police taskforce and mandatory reporting, to ensure this horrific scandal can never happen again, and bring members of grooming gangs to justice for the victims.”
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