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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Steph Brawn

Suella Braverman column was not signed off by Number 10

SUELLA Braverman's Times column that attacked the Metropolitan Police for its handling of pro-Palestinian marches was not signed off by Number 10, it has emerged.

The prime minister's spokesperson said it was looking into details surrounding the article, but Rishi Sunak has "full confidence" in her.

It is understood the article was sent to Number 10 prior to publication, but Braverman did not make the suggested changes. 

"It was not agreed by Number 10," Sunak's spokesperson said, when asked if the article was signed off by his top team.

In the piece, Braverman accused the Met Police of applying a "double standard" to its policing of protests.

It comes as a pro-Palestine rally on Armistice Day is set to go ahead despite UK Government objections.

She also used Northern Ireland as a point of comparison when referring to pro-Palestinian demonstrations as "hate marches".

She said: “They are an assertion of primacy by certain groups – particularly Islamists – of the kind we are more used to seeing in Northern Ireland.

“Also disturbingly reminiscent of Ulster are the reports that some of Saturday’s march group organisers have links to terrorist groups, including Hamas.”

Braverman's analysis has angered political parties across Northern Ireland, with SDLP leader Colum Eastwood branding her a “pound shop Enoch Powell”.

Alliance MP Stephen Farry said that Braverman's "comparisons to Northern Ireland are pathetic", describing her comments as the latest "of a series of cruel comments and oppressive policies".

The ministerial code says "all major interviews and media appearances, both print and broadcast, should "be agreed with the No 10 Press Office" and the Prime Minister can punish a minister who breaches this. 

SNP MSP Kevin Stewart meanwhile has tabled a parliamentary motion calling on Sunak to sack Braverman, stressing her "dangerous reign" at the Home Office must be ended.

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