Today’s news summary – Paper Talk: Suella Braverman’s Future in the Balance
Many of Friday’s newspapers lead with questions over the future of Home Secretary Suella Braverman after she wrote an article accusing the Metropolitan Police of bias over its handling of left and right-wing protests.
Braverman’s constant use of inflammatory language often sees her in the headlines. Only a few days ago she suggested homelessness was a lifestyle choice, but her recent attack on the Met has many asking: Has Suella Braverman gone too far this time?
‘On the brink’
Following her article in the Times, many papers are questioning whether Bravernman will now be sacked.
“On the brink” according to the Daily Express, while the Sun says she’s been “left out in the cold” and the Guardian says pressure is growing on PM Rishi Sunak to sack her.
The i newspaper reports that two unnamed government ministers wanted her sacked and says if the PM fails to act, senior Tories will see it as a weakness.
The Daily Mirror says Braverman has been accused from all sides of whipping up tensions ahead of Remembrance Day.
The Times says an earlier draft of the article Braverman wrote for the paper “went even further” in attacking the police. It says some elements were removed after Downing Street intervened by that she “defied” a request to take out the part comparing pro-Palestinian demonstrations to marches in Northern Ireland. The paper says her future is now in doubt.
But the front page of the Daily Mail carries a warning from MPs on the right of the Tory Party, saying: “If you come for Suella Braverman, you come for us all”. The paper claims the PM has been told he could face a “mutiny” if he sacks her adding “it will end very badly for him.”
The Telegraph reports that one Tory MP told them “the public are with her” and that removing her would be “politically mad.”
Israel-Hamas latest
Many of the papers continue their coverage of the latest from Gaza.
The Guardian says early in the war, Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the offer of a five-day ceasefire with Palestinian groups in return for the release of some hostages. It quotes sources familiar with the talks as saying the proposed deal involved freeing children, women, and sick people but that the Israeli government turned it down “outright”.
The Financial Times reports that talks are underway in Qatar are trying to agree a three-day pause to allow as many as 20 hostages to be released. The Mail says Israel agreed to the latest, short humanitarian pauses “following sustained pressure from the White House”.