Liz Truss’s embattled premiership has been rocked by the departure of Suella Braverman as British home secretary.
A UK Home Office source confirmed that Ms Braverman was out after the prime minister made a last-minute cancellation of a trip out of Westminster on Wednesday.
Ms Braverman is a figure-head of the right in the party and the exit of a former Tory leadership candidate will create further challenges for Ms Truss as she struggles to maintain her grip on power.
The Guardian, which first reported her departure, said that former transport secretary Grant Shapps, a major backer of Rishi Sunak for the Tory leadership and a critic of Ms Truss, was being lined up to succeed Ms Braverman.
The Sun reported that Ms Braverman was sacked, but this has not been confirmed officially.
Ms Braverman, a former attorney general, only became home secretary on September 6th when Ms Truss brought her in to replace Priti Patel.
Her tenure as home secretary has been controversial, having accused Tory critics who successfully forced Ms Truss into U-turning over plans to scrap the top rate of income tax of a “coup”.
Mr Shapps was one of the leading voices urging the prime minister to backtrack on the widely-criticised plan during the Tory party conference earlier this month.
