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Sunak’s favourability rating hits new low

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak conducts a series of media interviews in Downing Street. Picture by Simon Walker / No 10 Downing Street

Only 21% had a favourable opinion of Sunak, according to a YouGov poll conducted just before he won the crucial vote on the Rwanda bill…reports Asian Lite News

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak net favourability rating slipped to ‘worst ever’ amid the controversial Rwanda policy row, with a new poll showing 70 per cent of people holding an unfavourable view of the leader.

Only 21 per cent had a favourable opinion of him, according to a YouGov poll conducted just before Sunak won the crucial vote on the Rwanda bill.

“This gives the Prime Minister his lowest ever net favourability score of -49 — a 10 point drop from late November,” the poll said, adding that the present Prime Minister is now as unpopular as Boris Johnson in his final days in office.

At the time of Johnson’s resignation, YouGov recorded a low of -53 for the former Prime Minister, although still not as bad as Liz Truss’s -70.

Similarly, 2019 Conservative voters revealed a more negative view of the leader of the party they backed four years ago, in another new low for the Prime Minister.

A recorded 56 per cent expressed a negative opinion, while 40 per cent shared a positive view with pollsters. Meanwhile, Sunak got some respite on Tuesday as the House of Commons voted 313-269 to approve the government’s Rwanda bill in principle, sending it on for further scrutiny.

The Rwanda plan, agreed by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2022, seeks to deter migrants from making the perilous journey of about 32 km across the Channel in small boats or inflatable dinghies.

Under the plan, anyone who arrived in Britain illegally after January 1, 2022, faced being sent to Rwanda, some 6,400 km away. The first deportation flight in June 2022 was blocked by a last-minute injunction from the European Court of Human Rights.

The plan is of utmost importance to Sunak as he made “stopping the boats” one of his top five priorities after he became the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, Sunak has denied acting “tetchy” when he does not get his way, as it was revealed the prime minister is now as unpopular as Boris Johnson was when he resigned.

The prime minister said there was “nothing tetchy” about him, after facing criticism for his reaction to the Greek prime minister calling for the return of the Elgin Marbles.

In an interview with The Spectator, Sunak said: “I don’t understand that”.

He said: “There’s nothing tetchy. But I am passionate. When things are not working the way I want them to work, of course I’m going to be frustrated.”

Sunak, who insisted he was enjoying being prime minister, said he “knew what it was going to be” like taking on the top job.

At prime minister’s questions, Labour MP Chris Bryant asked Sunak: “What’s worse, losing your WhatsApp messages as tech bro, losing £11.8bn to fraud as chancellor, presiding over the biggest fall in living standards in history, or desperately clinging on to power when you’ve become even more unpopular than Boris Johnson?”

The prime minister replied: “What matters to me is delivering for the British people and that’s exactly what we are doing.”

Sunak told the Covid inquiry on Monday he did not have any of his WhatsApp messages from the pandemic as he had frequently changed phones and not backed them up.

Research from the House of Commons in 2022 showed billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money was lost to fraud and error in the government’s support for businesses during Covid.

Following the government’s Autumn Statement last month, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said living standards are on course to fall to the lowest level since records began in the 1950s.

Meanwhile, Labour Leader Keir Starmer accused Sunak of kicking the can down the road after his Rwanda bill passed 313 to 269, with a majority of 44 votes, on Tuesday night in its first parliamentary stage.

But with around 38 Conservative MPs recorded as not taking part in the vote, it is widely expected that the controversial Rwanda bill aimed at deporting illegal migrants to the east African nation while asylum claims are processed will reignite the deep Tory divisions over the issue as it progresses through further stages in the New Year.

He can spin it all he likes but the whole country can see that yet again the Tory party is in meltdown and everyone else is paying the price. He has kicked the can down the road but in the last week his MPs have said of him he is not capable enough, he is inexperienced, he is arrogant, a really bad politician, said Starmer.

Faced with one of his toughest challenges since taking charge as Prime Minister last year, Sunak had launched a wide-ranging charm offensive at 10 Downing Street in a bid to win over MPs from within his Conservative Party threatening to rebel against the Rwanda bill.

ALSO READ-Sunak sees off revolt to win vote on Rwanda migrant plan

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Sunak Welcomes Dutch Prime Minister at No 10

Wilders has so far won 37 seats in parliament, more than doubling his share from the last election and outstripping opponents, reports France24…reports Asian Lite News

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has welcomed his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutt at No. 10 Downing Street.

The leaders discussed a range of geopolitical issues, including the situation in the Middle East. They expressed regret at the breakdown of the pause in fighting to release hostages and agreed that it was vital that more aid was able to get into Gaza, including by exploring new routes.

They also agreed on the critical importance of preventing regional escalation and a unified effort to prevent attempts to threaten maritime security. 

The Prime Minister reflected on his recent conversations with President Zelenskyy and reiterated that support for our Ukrainian allies must remain steadfast throughout the winter and beyond. The leaders remarked on their similar outlook on the situation and welcomed continued close cooperation in supporting the defence of Ukraine.

The leaders agreed on the vital importance of tackling the scourge of illegal migration. The Prime Minister updated Prime Minister Rutte on the recent steps the UK has taken on this, including our Rwanda policy and Illegal Migration Act. They agreed to continue to work together through the Calais Group and bilaterally to tackle the issue.

Noting the extensive British and Dutch contribution to European security, the leaders discussed the importance of keeping NATO strong and united as we look ahead to the 2024 Summit in Washington.

The Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Rutte for his leadership over the last thirteen years as the Netherlands’ longest-serving Prime Minister.

Dutch far-right leader, Geert Wilders has won a massive election in the Dutch exit poll setting him on course to form a coalition and become the Netherlands next Prime Minister, leaders from across Europe are congratulating the PPV (Freedom Party) leader.

Wilders has so far won 37 seats in parliament, more than doubling his share from the last election and outstripping opponents, reports France24.

A left-wing bloc trailed far behind on 25 seats, with the centre-right VVD (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy) on 24, a catastrophic result for the party with the outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has served the country since 2010.

President of the French National Rally (RN) group in the National Assembly, Marine Le Pen, said on her X, formerly Twitter page, “Congratulations to@geertwilderspvvand the PVV for their spectacular performance in the legislative elections”.

ALSO READ-Sunak Faces Political Crisis Over Controversial Immigration Bill

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Sunak Faces Political Crisis Over Controversial Immigration Bill

Perhaps most vocal among the dissatisfied Conservative MPs is Suella Braverman, whose father is Goan and mother Tamil and who was last month sacked as Home Secretary in the Sunak government…reports Asian Lite News

Rishi Sunak, 42, the Indian-origin British Prime Minister, is fighting with his back to the wall to save his premiership as well as his political career.

Sunak, who has staked his future on passing an immigration bill in the British Parliament, which, he thinks, will ensure asylum seekers to the United Kingdom are sent to Rwanda and consequently deter such people from illegally coming to Britain. The United Kingdom has signed an agreement with Rwanda to despatch illegal immigrants to the east African country.

Summoning a media conference on Thursday, he told journalists the bill will make prospect of courts blocking any deportation decision “vanishingly rare”. He said: “That means that this bill blocks every single reason that has ever been used to prevent flights to Rwanda from taking off.”

Three weeks ago, the UK’s Supreme Court struck down the move as in its view, the policy was unlawful, violated human rights, among other contraventions. It also felt Rwanda was not a safe place. Commenting on this, Sunak said: “You had better believe we’ve blocked those too (in the bill).” He emphasised the UK was also willing to ignore injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights.

However, passage of the bill in the House of Commons next week has boiled down to a confidence vote on Sunak. The main opposition Labour party, the Scottish nationalists and the Liberal Democrats are determined to oppose it. If about 28 ruling Conservative party MPs join them, the legislation could in fact be defeated.

Perhaps most vocal among the dissatisfied Conservative MPs is Suella Braverman, whose father is Goan and mother Tamil and who was last month sacked as Home Secretary in the Sunak government. She and her allies want the bill to go further by disapplying the European convention on human rights in entirety.

The Guardian newspaper commented: “It is not yet clear whether his (Sunak’s) legal arguments are as robust as his rhetoric, and today he sounded more uncertain and defensive than he did when going over this ground last month”. The Daily Mail and the Sun, both generally supportive of the Conservative party, asked questions at the media conference which reflected doubts in their minds in the matter.

Braverman has behaved like a woman scorned since her dismissal from the cabinet. She, first, made public a searing letter written to Sunak. Following that, she has been suspected on British media of plotting to unseat Sunak. She was asked: “Isn’t the truth that you’re a headline grabber that does it by spreading poison even in your own party?” She answered: “The truth is… I sought to be honest and sometimes honesty is uncomfortable. If that upsets polite society, I’m sorry about that.”

She is of the view that the bill, even if passed by Parliament, “just won’t work”. Other right-wing Conservative MPs and activists feel the draft in its present form would still give rise to legal challenges and stop planes from taking off for Rwanda.

If Sunak’s gamble fails, commentators believe he’s toast. He could resign, be confronted by a leadership contest or be forced to call a snap general election, which he will almost certainly lose. Labour are 20 percentage points ahead of the Conservatives in opinion polls.

It is not just the hard right but also centrists in Sunak’s party who have reservations about the bill. The latter because they are worried that disregard of international human rights norms will damage Britain’s prestige in the world.

On Wednesday night, the Immigration Minister who was in-charge of navigating the controversial bill through parliament – Robert Jenrick – resigned, thereby delivering a bitter blow to Sunak. The final draft was apparently not to his liking. In his resignation letter he described it as “a triumph of hope over experience”. Jenrick is now seen as heading a right-wing rebellion in the Conservative benches.

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Sunak announces curbs to cut immigration 

As part of the new measures, the government would curb international students from bringing their families to UK unless they are pursuing postgraduate research degrees…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday announced a series of new steps to crack down on soaring immigration in the country.

Sunak described the new measures as the government’s ‘radical action’ to bring down the immigration rate, adding the steps would ensure that immigration benefits the UK.

As part of the new measures, the government would curb international students from bringing their families to UK unless they are pursuing postgraduate research degrees and hiking the minimum salary that skilled foreign workers will need to earn if they want a visa to work in the country.

Taking to X, PM Sunak said, “Immigration is too high. Today we’re taking radical action to bring it down. These steps will make sure that immigration always benefits the UK.”

He posted, “IMMIGRATION ACTION, BANNING overseas students from bringing their families to the UK, unless they are on postgraduate research degrees, STOPPING immigration undercutting British workers, SCRAPPING the 20% going rate salary discounts offered for shortage occupations.”

Net migration to Britain reached record levels last year, official figures showed, putting pressure on the UK government that has made the issue a political touchstone, CNN reported in May.

Britain saw a net migration of 606,000 people in 2022, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, with 1.2 million people arriving in the country and about half that number leaving.

CNN reported that despite pledges from successive Conservative governments to drastically reduce the numbers of people moving to the UK, particularly in the wake of Brexit – a rupture that was touted by its proponents as a necessary step for Britain to “take control” of its borders.

The vast majority of people arriving – 925,000 – were non-EU nationals, and around one in 12 of those were asylum seekers, included for the first time in the ONS’ annual release.

“The main drivers of the increase were people coming to the UK from non-EU countries for work, study and for humanitarian purposes,” Jay Lindop, Director of the Centre for International Migration at the ONS, said, according to CNN.

Last year, Indian nationals were issued the largest number of UK study, work and visitor visas, according to UK Immigration Statistics.

More than 258,000 Indian nationals received visit visas in the year ending June 2022 — a 630 per cent increase compared to the previous year (when travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic were still in place), read UK Immigration Statistics.

But experts warn it also risks causing further chaos in the already stretched health sector and damaging the UK’s long-term growth prospects.

Cleverly told MPs on Monday that “migration is far too high and needs to come down … enough is enough”.

He added: “Today I can announce that we will go even further than those provisions already in place, with a five-point plan to further curb immigration abuses that will deliver the biggest ever reduction in net migration. In total, this package, plus our reduction in student dependants, will mean about 300,000 fewer people will come in future years than have come to the UK last year.”

Along with raising the salary threshold and scrapping the “shortage occupation list”, Cleverly announced that social care workers would no longer be allowed to bring their dependants when they came to work in the UK.

He also said people living in the UK – including British citizens – would now be allowed to sponsor family members to move to the UK only if the person living in the UK earned £38,700, up from £18,600 currently.

Finally, the government is asking the Migration Advisory Committee to review the rules for those who have completed undergraduate degrees in the UK.

A spokesperson for Downing Street called the package “the biggest clampdown on legal migration ever”. They added: “We believe this is a package which will enable us to significantly reduce numbers whilst achieving economic growth.”

It forms one part of a two-part plan to reduce the numbers of people coming into Britain legally and illegally. This week Cleverly is likely to fly to Kigali to sign a new asylum treaty with Rwanda, with ministers ready to bring forward new legislation in an effort to finally kickstart the government’s Rwanda plan.

Sources say Downing Street originally intended to announce a more moderate package of restrictions on legal migration but buckled under heavy pressure from Tory backbenchers and Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister.

Downing Street denied, however, that the five-point plan was the same one Jenrick had reportedly lobbied the prime minister to adopt on multiple occasions in recent weeks.

Christopher Howarth, a former adviser to the Home Office under Priti Patel, said the Treasury had vetoed precisely such moves when Sunak was chancellor because of fears it would stymie economic growth.

“These changes are the ones we urged the government to focus on 18 months ago,” Howarth said. “But they were opposed by various government departments, and especially by the Treasury.”

Taken with previous changes made to student visas, the Home Office calculates this will lead to 300,000 fewer entrants into the UK.

ALSO READ-Sunak’s Diplomatic Misstep Deepens Concerns in Tory Circles

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Sunak Cancels Meeting Over Parthenon Sculptures Dispute

In the early 19th century, while Greece was still under Ottoman Empire rule, half of the Parthenon sculptures were removed by the UK diplomat Lord Elgin…reports Asian Lite News

The Greek government and opposition parties have expressed their dismay over UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s sudden decision to cancel a scheduled meeting with his counterpart in Athens Kyriakos Mitsotakis over a long-standing row regarding the Parthenon sculptures.

Mitsotakis was on an unofficial visit to the UK, which was to end with a meeting with Sunak on Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency.

While in London, the Greek delegation was notified that the meeting would be canceled, according to the Greek national news agency AMNA.

In an interview with British news outlet BBC a few hours earlier, Mitsotakis had reiterated Greece’s request for the repatriation of all sculptures to the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis.

The Greek sculptures have been the subject of a dispute between Athens and London for decades.

Several of the sculptures are currently exhibited at the British Museum in London, which is like “cutting Mona Lisa in half”, Mitsotakis said.

In the early 19th century, while Greece was still under Ottoman Empire rule, half of the Parthenon sculptures were removed by the UK diplomat Lord Elgin.

For decades, Greeks have repeatedly asked for them to be returned.

“I was hoping to have the opportunity to discuss it with my British counterpart, along with current challenges, like Gaza, Ukraine, the climate crisis and migration. Anyone who believes his stance is right and fair is never afraid of debating,” Mitsotakis commented after the cancelation in an e-mailed press statement.

Sunak’s stance was “unprecedented and disrespectful to the Greek premier and the Greek people”, Pavlos Marinakis, Greek government spokesperson, told local SKAI television.

Greece’s main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance party leader Stefanos Kasselakis also said that Sunak’s action was “unacceptable” in a post on X social media platform.

“It is a national affair that concerns the history of an entire people. And it is a moral issue concerning the shameless theft of cultural wealth from its natural space,” he commented.

The socialist PASOK-KINAL party also sided with the Greek government, blasting the action as “contrary to every precept of diplomacy”.

ALSO READ-UAE Aid Trucks Cross Into Gaza

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UK Universities See Surge in Applications

A couple paid 30,000 pounds to secure a student visa and a dependent’s visa to travel to the UK together, according to The Telegraph newspaper…reports Asian Lite News

Education agents are charging Indian students more money to secure spots at UK universities ahead of a government ban, which prohibits dependents from entering the country, beginning January 1, 2024.

A near-eightfold rise in the number of family members joining foreign students led Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to announce the ban earlier this year for those not studying “high-value” degrees under government plans.

A couple paid 30,000 pounds to secure a student visa and a dependent’s visa to travel to the UK together, according to The Telegraph newspaper.

With a rise in the number of students accelerating their visa applications to avoid the ban, some universities have opened up applications in November and December, the report added.

Sunak’s announcement followed a sharp rise in study-related visas for dependents of students, which almost doubled from 80,846 in the year ending June 2022 to 154,063 in June 2023, accounting for nearly 24 per cent of all sponsored study related visas.

To avoid the ban, one couple entered into a “contract” marriage, where the man agreed to fund his wife’s university education in the UK in return for her sponsoring his dependent visa so he could work in the UK.

He did not have the required academic or language qualifications to enter the UK as a student and ended up paying 30,000 pounds for her tuition, visa and admission fees on top of her expenses.

Rinku Sharma from Ahmedabad sold his agricultural land to pay the education agent 11,000 pounds for his admission in a masters course as well as a dependent visa for his wife.

“It is a one-time investment. Once we get a degree from the UK and work experience, we have a great future both in the UK and back in India,” Sharma told The Telegraph.

Sahil Bhatia, head of Om Visa, a Punjab-based visa consultancy, said he was receiving between 30 and 40 spouse applications a day.

Bhatia said universities like BPP in London, Birmingham and Bedfordshire were taking students in November and December.

According to estimates, international students add 35 billion pounds a year to the UK economy, and 490,763 students were given visas last year.

Foreign students and their dependents contributed to the UK economy not just through fees of 10,000 pounds to 26,000 pounds but also via an NHS surcharge of 400 pounds a year for the student and 600 pounds for a dependent, UK-based New Way Consultancy said.

ALSO READ-G7 Foreign Ministers to gather for united response to Middle-East, Ukraine

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Sunak reportedly said ‘just let people die’, COVID inquiry hears

Vallance quoted Cummings in his diary as saying: “Rishi thinks just let people die and that’s okay. This all feels like a complete lack of leadership.”…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was quoted as saying the government should “just let people die” during the COVID-19 pandemic rather than impose a second national lockdown, the inquiry into how Britain handled the crisis heard on Monday.

Patrick Vallance, who was the government’s chief scientific adviser during COVID, made a note in his diary on October 25, 2020, about a meeting involving then Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Sunak, who was finance minister.

The diary entry shown to the inquiry recorded how Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s most senior adviser during the pandemic, had relayed to Vallance what he said he had heard at the meeting.

Vallance quoted Cummings in his diary as saying: “Rishi thinks just let people die and that’s okay. This all feels like a complete lack of leadership.”

A spokesman for Sunak said the Prime Minister would set out his position when he gives evidence to the inquiry “rather than respond to each one in piecemeal”.

The inquiry is examining the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic that shut large sections of the economy and killed more than 220,000 people in Britain. It is due to run until the summer of 2026.

Senior government officials have repeatedly said the government was unprepared for the pandemic and a “toxic” and “macho” culture hampered the response to the health crisis.

The danger for Sunak is that evidence at the inquiry undermines his attempt to cast himself as a change to the chaotic leadership of Johnson even though he was one of the most senior ministers in that government.

Previous evidence has shown he was branded “Dr. Death” by one government scientific adviser over his “Eat Out to Help out” policy in the summer of 2020, which subsidised meals in pubs and restaurants but was criticised by health experts for spreading the virus.

ALSO READ-Jaishankar, Sunak discuss FTA

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Jaishankar, Sunak discuss FTA 

The duo also discussed shared global challenges, including the situation in Israel and Gaza and the war between Russia and Ukraine…reports Asian Lite News

Ministry of External Affairs Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi has said the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was discussed during External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar’s meeting with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on his recent visit to the country.

“The EAM discussed the FTA with the UK PM and the newly sworn-in foreign secretary. There are discussions going on. But if you want to know the exact status of negotiations, I would refer you to the trade negotiators,” Bagchi said while speaking on the India-UK FTA during the MEA Weekly Media Briefing on Thursday.

The MEA spokesperson further said: “Both India and UK are engaged on this important issue to see if we can find, a solution or reach a final stage…”

EAM Jaishankar on his recent five-day visit to the UK, met with his British counterpart David Cameron and discussed progressing a Free Trade Agreement and partnerships on defence, science and technology.

During the meeting on Monday, the two leaders reflected on the strength of the UK-India relationship, including meeting the ambition of the UK-India 2030 Roadmap, according to the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

“The Foreign Secretary and Jaishankar also discussed progressing a free trade agreement and partnerships on defence, science and technology,” it said.

The duo also discussed shared global challenges, including the situation in Israel and Gaza and the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Notably, India and the UK are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Talks for FTA between India and the UK started in 2022 and the 12th round of negotiations took place from August 8-31 this year.

The India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was launched in 2021 along with the India-UK Roadmap 2030, according to the MEA. The Roadmap is a commitment to a partnership that delivers for both countries.

Jaishankar on his UK visit also met with the UK PM and presented him with a Lord Ganesha statue and a cricket bat signed by Indian batting great Virat Kohli.

Taking to his official handle on X, EAM Jaishankar shared details about his meeting with the UK PM, posting, “Delighted to call on Prime Minister @RishiSunak on #Diwali Day. Conveyed the best wishes of PM @narendramodi. India and UK are actively engaged in reframing the relationship for contemporary times. Thank Mr. and Mrs. Sunak for their warm reception and gracious hospitality.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak discussed the progress on the FTA during their telephonic conversation.

Sunak also congratulated PM Modi on Team India’s strong performance in the ongoing Cricket World Cup.

“Turning to the friendship between the UK and India, the leaders discussed recent progress on Free Trade Agreement negotiations. They agreed on the importance of securing an ambitious deal that benefitted both sides,” the UK government said in a statement. (ANI)

ALSO READ-Strong and united team is going to deliver, says Sunak

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Strong and united team is going to deliver, says Sunak

James Cleverly replaced Braverman as the Home Secretary…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addressed a meeting with his new-look cabinet on Tuesday, a day after the major reshuffle that saw the return of former PM David Cameron to the cabinet and the sacking of Suella Braverman.

During his remarks, the UK PM stressed not just delivering on the promises but also building a better future for the upcoming generations with reforms in education, healthcare and climate change.

Addressing the meeting, Sunak said, “Our purpose is nothing less than to make the long-term decisions that are going to change the country for the better. And I know that this strong and united team is going to deliver that change for everybody”.

The UK PM called the coming week as important as during this inflation numbers will be released, the Autumn Statement will be delivered and the apex court will give the ruling on the government’s Rwanda Plan, which was held “unlawful” by the Appeals Court earlier this year.

“But you know that is not the limit of our ambitions. We want to build a better future for our children and our grandchildren. And that’s what this team is going to do, whether it’s navigating the crisis in Ukraine, or in the Middle East to demonstrate that we will stand up for our values and provide security for everyone here at home, but also to make the big bold decisions that will drive the change,” he said.

“Looking around this table, I know that we have an energetic and enthusiastic team that is going to deliver for the country. So, let’s get to work,” Sunak added.

Earlier on Monday, in a major cabinet rejig, Sunak sacked Home Secretary Suella Braverman amid mounting pressure over her criticism of the Metropolitan Police for allegedly “going soft” on certain “radical elements” in Pro-Palestine rallies.

James Cleverly replaced Braverman as the Home Secretary.

In another surprising development, former Prime Minister David Cameron was also appointed as the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.

Cameron resigned as the PM in 2016 after Britain voted to leave the European Union, in a referendum that was called by him.

“The Prime Minister has asked me to serve as his Foreign Secretary and I have gladly accepted,” Cameron posted on X (formerly Twitter) after his appointment.

Notably, this is only the second time after World War II that a former Prime Minister has returned to the cabinet.

In other appointments, Laura Trott was appointed Chief Secretary of Treasury Secretary, Victoria Atkins was appointed Secretary of Health and Social Care, and Steve Barclay was made Secretary of State, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Additionally, Esther McVey and Richard Holden were made Ministers without portfolios. (ANI)

ALSO READ-Braverman Accuses Sunak of ‘Betrayal’ in Fiery Letter

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Braverman Accuses Sunak of ‘Betrayal’ in Fiery Letter

Braverman claimed police had applied a “double standard” to protesters, in an article for the Times newspaper…reports Asian Lite News

A day after being sacked as UK’s Home Secretary, Suella Braverman burst out fiercely at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, accusing him of “betrayal” by failing to keep his promises over controlling illegal immigration, or responding aptly to “extremism on the streets”.

“Your plan is not working,” she said in a searing letter to her fellow Indian-origin leader.

“Either your distinctive style of government means you are incapable of doing so.

“Or, as I must surely conclude now, you never had any intention of keeping your promises,” the controversial right-wing leader said in the letter, the BBC reported.

“Someone needs to be honest: your plan is not working, we have endured record election defeats, your resets have failed and we are running out of time. You need to change course urgently.”

Braverman accused Sunak of betraying his pledge to do “whatever it takes” to stop small boats crossing the Channel – which, she said, was among her conditions to take the post in October last year.

Following her sacking on Monday, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was moved to the Home Office, while former Prime Minister David Cameron, making a political comeback, stepped into his role.

A No 10 spokesman thanked Braverman for her service, but added: “The Prime Minister was proud to appoint a strong, united team yesterday focused on delivering for the British people.”

The immediate trigger for her removal was accusations pf her of stoking tensions ahead of pro-Palestinian marches in London, against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war.

Braverman claimed police had applied a “double standard” to protesters, in an article for the Times newspaper.

In her letter, she also accused Sunak of failing “to rise to the challenge posed by the increasingly vicious antisemitism and extremism displayed on our streets”.

“I have become hoarse urging you to consider legislation to ban the hate marches and help stem the rising tide of racism, intimidation and terrorist glorification threatening community cohesion,” she added, accusing the PM of putting off “tough decisions in order to minimise political risk to yourself”.

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