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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Lizzie Edmonds

Joe Lycett makes dig at Suella Braverman as she's sacked from Home Office

Comedian Joe Lycett made a dig at Suella Braverman who was sacked as Home Secretary on Monday.

Braverman, 43, announced her departure from the role as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak undertook a Cabinet reshuffle.

She was a controversial figure in the role, with many calling for Braverman to be sacked after she made a string of controversial statements, including that homeless people sleeping in tents on the street was a “lifestyle choice.”  

Lycett, 35, couldn’t resist making a dig at Braverman as she left her role, writing on Twitter: “Being unemployed is a lifestyle choice.”

The comedian recently raised £50,000 for a homeless charity following Braverman’s remarks about the homeless. 

In an Instagram post about his plans to fundraise, Lycett said: “My old friend Suella Braverman has described rough sleeping as a ‘lifestyle choice’. 

“I always thought lifestyle choices were things such as cargo pants, fishing and decorating your bathroom with a bowl of potpourri.

“I want to see if this image I found on Google, described as ‘wooden botanical fragrant potpourri bowl with lemon’, can raise £50,000 for homelessness charity Crisis UK.”

When he reached, and surpassed his target, Lycett added: “I woke up this morning to see that a picture of a bowl of potpourri I posted just over two days ago has raised £50,000 for Crisis. A huge thank you to everyone who donated for their generosity.

“Of course, my main thanks must go to Suella – without your lifestyle choice, of being callous and cruel towards the most vulnerable people in society, none of this would’ve happened.

“There’s another choice coming to all of us fairly soon. It’s known as an election. Best of luck with it babe.”

Meanwhile, fellow comedian Kathy Burke also made a dig at Braverman as she left the role, and referenced the fact that former UKIP leader Nigel Farage is set to star in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here. “Quick, @itv there’s another hate baiting c**t available,” she wrote online.

Braverman was replaced in the Home Office by James Cleverly. Former prime minister David Cameron replaced him as Foreign Secretary. He will also be given a peerage.

Ominously for Mr Sunak, Mrs Braverman said she would have “more to say in due course” about her exit, which followed rows over comments about homeless people and the policing of pro-Palestinian marches.

Mrs Braverman said: “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve as home secretary.”

Former minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns said Mrs Braverman had been “sacked for speaking the truth”, and it was a “bad call by Rishi caving in to the left”.

Former Tory treasurer Lord Cruddas also criticised Mr Sunak’s actions, saying: “The coup is complete, remain has won and democracy has lost.”

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