Suella Braverman will reunite with former underling Robert Jenrick on Reform’s benches after being unveiled as Nigel Farage’s latest Tory turncoat

Suella Braverman has become Nigel Farage’s latest Tory turncoat after crossing over to Reform.

The former Cabinet member, who had the dubious distinction of being sacked as Home Secretary by two different Prime Ministers, said: “I feel like I’ve come home.” She joins former underling Robert Jenrick, who was Immigration Minister as asylum hotel accommodation was ramped up.

She launched a scathing attack on the Tories, accusing them of having “no courage, no backbone, no resolve”. And she told an audience in London: “Honesty compels me to say this today – Britain is indeed broken. She is suffering. She is not well. Immigration is out of control.

“Our public services are on their knees. People don’t feel safe. Our youngsters are leaving the country for better futures elsewhere. We can’t even defend ourselves and our nation stands weak and humiliated on the world stage. So we stand at a crossroads.”

Tories claim Suella Braverman’s defection was ‘always a matter of when’

Kemi Badenoch’s Tories – reeling from yet another defection to Reform – has reacted to Suella Braverman’s defection. A spokesman says: “It was always a matter of when, not if, Suella would defect. The Conservatives did all we could to look after Suella’s mental health, but she was clearly very unhappy.

“She says she feels that she has ‘come home’, which will come as a surprise to the people who chose not to elect a Reform MP in her constituency in 2024.

“There are some people who are MPs because they care about their communities and want to deliver a better country. There are others who do it for their personal ambition. Suella stood for leader of the Conservatives in 2022 and came sixth, behind Kemi and Tom Tugendhat. In 2024 she could not even muster enough supporters to get on the ballot. She has now decided to try her luck with Nigel Farage, who said last year he didn’t want her in Reform. They really are doing our ‘Spring cleaning’!”

Labour hits back over Braverman

Anna Turley MP, Chair of the Labour Party, said: “Nigel Farage is stuffing his party full of the failed Tories responsible for the chaos and decline that held Britain back for 14 years.

“Suella Braverman helped botch Brexit and got sacked as Home Secretary – her defection shows Farage is willing to accept the very worst of the Conservative Party and exposes his complete lack of judgement.

“While Reform’s band of failed Tories focus on their careers, Keir Starmer’s Labour Government is focused on cutting the cost of living and fixing our NHS.”

Suella Braverman launches scathing attack on the Tories

Ms Braverman, who was a cabinet member under three Tory leaders, has accused her former party of betrayal.

In a poisonous rant about her former colleagues, the twice-sacked Home Secretary accused them of “lies”. She said: “When the cameras are off, when the doors are shut and when they’re sat behind that table making the difficult decisions for the country, they fold. When push comes to shove, they go AWOL.

“No courage, no backbone, no resolve.”

‘Britain is broken’ claims Braverman as he joins Reform

Ms Braverman – who has long been tipped to defect – said: “Honesty compels me to say this today Britain is indeed broken. She is suffering. She is not well. Immigration is out of control.

“Our public services are on their knees. People don’t feel safe. Our youngsters are leaving the country for better futures elsewhere.

“We can’t even defend ourselves and our nation stands weak and humiliated on the world stage. So we stand at a crossroads.”

Suella Braverman unveiled as latest Tory turncoat

Suella Braverman has been unveiled as the latest Tory defector.

She tells the audience: “I feel like I’ve come home.”

Farage invokes case of former British soldier

Mr Farage invokes the case of former solider Dennis Hitchings, who was prosecuted over the death of Catholic Irish man John Cunningham in 1974.

The Reform said: “We’re beginning to see that some of the surrenders that were made from the Belfast Agreement and onwards by the Blair government have led to this ridiculous situation. If we’re going to absolve those who potentially were terrorists 50 years ago, the very least we can do is to absolve not just the memory of Dennis Hutchings, but all those now and in the future who may go through this process.”

Veterans would be prioritised for police and Border Force jobs

A Reform MP has said military veterans would be prioritised for roles including the police and Border Force if his party gets to power.

Danny Kruger told the audience: “We’re going to make major headcount cuts across the civil service and across a whole bunch of the costs, the bureaucracy. But there are parts of the public sector that need to grow, and the police are one, prison service, Border Force…

“These are roles where military are really well suited. And we’re going to prioritise veterans, particularly for the 30,000 new police officers that we’re going to recruit.”

Reform’s Sarah Pochin on the stage

Reform MP Sarah Pochin is next to the stage.

She tells the audience: “I often reflect whether the generation growing up today, if ever tested by conflict, would find within themselves the same courage, sense of duty and willingness to serve in the way those in this room did.”

Reform MP Sarah Pochin addressing veterans

Demand to stop prosecuting veterans

Mr Hellyer hit out over veterans being charged with offences linked to tours in Northern Ireland.

He told the audience, which is largely made of former service men and women: “You followed the rules of engagement.

“And I see my friends in the dock. I don’t see generals and I don’t see lawyers in the dock because they are the people. They are the people that wrote the laws. They are the people that enforce the laws that we followed.”

SAS veteran to head Veterans for Reform group

Army veteran Matthew Hellyer will head the Veterans for Reform group.

He told the audience that after leaving the miliary following a 25 year career, he was diagnosed with cancer. He said he was instructed to seek help from the NHS, which he said is “not good enough”.

The SAS veteran said: “There is 1.8 million of us out here, and I can tell you, not many of us voted on the last elections, but on the next elections what we want is 1.8 million veterans and their wonderful families to vote for this party, knowing that this party has your backs.”

He said there must be around-the-clock assistance for veterans, pointing to a rise in suicides among people who have served the country.

Chairman opens with attack over asylum seekers

Reform chairman Dr David Bull opens by saying veterans are not well treated in the UK.

He told the audience: “The way we treat veterans in this country is totally and utterly unacceptable.” He goes on to say: “The real irony is this the government is importing and housing people who often do not share our values or respect our culture, whilst failing those who have actually fought for this country and everything it represents.”

He will be furious when he learns that Robert Jenrick, one of Reform’s latest recruits, was responsible for opening hundreds of asylum hotels.

Starmer says ‘battle of our times’ is against division of Reform

Keir Starmer has said the “battle for our times” will be between a “patriotic Labour government” and the “division of Reform”.

He made the remark as he defended the decision not to allow Andy Burnham to stand as an MP. He warned that the Labour Party must focus its efforts in stopping Mr Farage getting to No10.

Hypocrisy accusation as Chagos letters come to light

A Reform defector has been accused of a “staggering act of hypocrisy” for griping about the Chagos Islands deal despite begging Joe Biden for an almost identical agreement.

Andrew Rosindell penned a letter in 2020 warning Mr Biden that failure to “decolonise” Chagos was causing international anger. He voiced his hopes that the US would help bring an end to “historic injustices” – and said Britain was committed to returning the islands to Mauritius.

At the weekend Mr Rosindell quit the Tories for Reform, claiming Conservative failure to hold the Government to account over Chagos was a “clear red line” for him.

Farage missed a big vote on this issue, Tory points out

Shadow armed forces minister Mark Francois said the Conservatives have been “defending those who defended us” for “years”.

“As someone who has campaigned consistently on this issue for almost a decade, I welcome support from other parties, even belatedly,” he said. “However, the Conservatives have voted repeatedly in Parliament to oppose Labour’s assault on our 2023 Legacy Act – which actually protects NI Veterans – including last Wednesday, when Farage and [Robert] Jenrick didn’t even bother to vote, to defend our Vets. Where were they instead?”

As it currently stands, the Legacy Act offers immunity from prosecution to anyone accused of crimes during the Troubles in Northern Ireland if they provide information to a truth recovery body. While the Legacy Act was approved in 2023, it was not enacted.

The then-Conservative government began the process of appealing against the High Court decision, but this was dropped by Labour ministers after the 2024 general election.

More than 3,500 people died during 30 years of bloodshed and bombings known as the Troubles, which began in January 1969 when the UK government sent troops to Northern Ireland.