Tories face backlash after 'mental health' jibe over Braverman's exit

The Conservatives are facing a backlash for claiming that Suella Braverman had defected to Reform UK following "mental health" issues as the former home secretary finally joined Nigel Farage's party after months of denials.

- Ben Quinn Priya Bharadia Peter Walker

Braverman, who was sacked from the cabinet by both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, became the third sitting Tory MP to defect in little over a week. She immediately went on the attack against her former party.

At a press conference, Braverman said she had felt "politically homeless" for two years and that too many Tory promises - including on Brexit and immigration - "lie in tatters".

Her critics immediately pointed out that as Tory Brexit minister, home secretary and attorney general, she had played a big role in those policy areas.

But a bitter row broke out after the Tories issued a statement saying that the party had done "all we could to look after Suella's mental health" but she was "clearly very unhappy". The move sparked an angry response from across the political spectrum.

The party later issued a corrected statement saying the original lines were "a draft version" sent out in error.

The earlier statement said: "It was only 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."

It led to criticism from across the political spectrum. The former Conservative MP Nigel Evans said it was an "absolute disgrace", while Mike Tapp, the immigration minister, described it as “gutter politics”.

Braverman herself addressed the statement later, saying that the Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, had previously accused her of having a “breakdown”.She added: “Itis abit pathetic. As Isaid, itsays more about them than it does me.”