James Cleverly has assumed office as UK home secretary after being selected by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. This is a strategic move to mend relationships with senior police officers and instil confidence among rightwing Tory MPs after Suella Braverman’s tumultuous tenure.
Whitehall sources indicate that the MP for Braintree, a supporter of Liz Truss for prime minister, is expected to engage in urgent discussions with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley following Suella Braverman’s claims of police bias.
Sunak’s move to appoint Cleverly to his second major government position is designed to reassure traditional hard-right supporters of Braverman, affirming their continued influence over critical policies involving immigration and policing.
Cleverly, in his first comments as home secretary, declared his two central goals: putting a stop to small boats crossing the Channel from France and safeguarding the well-being of the people.
‘As the home secretary I am absolutely committed to stopping the boats as we promised, but also making sure that everybody in the UK feels safe and secure going about their daily business knowing that the government is here to protect them,’ he said outside the Home Office’s main office in Westminster.
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Asked if he wanted to distance himself from some of the provocative language used by Braverman, Cleverly replied: ‘Well, I intend to do this job in the way I feel best protects the British people and our interests.’
Reiterating Sunak’s promise to “stop the boats,” his choice is likely to irk Conservative commentators who view it as a challenging commitment, particularly in light of the more than 25,000 asylum seekers who have crossed the Channel to the UK in small boats this year.
One ally of the new home secretary said: ‘Cleverly was a Brexiteer before anyone had coined the term and was a key backer of the Rwanda plan under Boris [Johnson].’
With a genial reputation at 54, particularly in parliament’s bars, Cleverly is recognized as a skilled media operator credited with restoring relationships with senior civil servants in the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, mitigating fallout from disputes during Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, and Truss’s tenures.
Inheriting a challenging set of tasks at the Home Office, Cleverly must address the fallout from a significant Supreme Court decision on Wednesday, deciding the legality of the government’s Rwanda deportation plan.
Concerns are on the rise regarding sexism within the police, allegations that the Tories have weakened the authority of the police, an uptick in crime rates, and heightened scrutiny of delays in the criminal justice system.