04 October 2023 , 07:01
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Suella Braverman has apologised after being snapped standing on a guide dog's tail at the Tory Party Conference.
The Home Secretary said she was unaware she'd trodden on the poor animal until she was shown pictures later on. An eagle-eyed reporter shared an image which was widely shared of the cabinet member standing on the guide dog in the conference exhibition centre in Manchester.
Journalist Alexander Brown posted the image on Twitter, writing: "Not to be all insane moments in British politics, but here's Suella Braverman standing on a dog." After being shown the image, Ms Braverman told a reception she was unaware it had happened.
The top Tory - tipped as a future leader if the party loses the next election - quipped: "I was unaware until a few minutes ago - I don't think any dogs were harmed in the filming of my visit but let me just issue for the record an apology to all dogs out there."
Excited activists chanted her name as she took to the stage at a Blue Collar Conservatism reception, where she was introduced as the "darling of the conference" by ally Sir John Hayes. The dog, named Inca, was at a Guide Dogs UK stand at the conference, where the charity is campaigning for a ban on pavement parking.
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She had earlier met Rishi Sunak, who managed not to tread on her. The charity - which diplomatically swerved accusing the Home Secretary of treading on her - posted: "Today’s been quite a day for Inca the guide dog! Kissed by the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and nearly - but not quite - stepped on by the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman."
It comes after Ms Braverman was accused of using vulnerable people as "cannon fodder" after claiming a "hurricane" of migrants are heading to the UK. The Home Secretary claimed the Tories were "raising their game" after years of failure - but her party conference speech was interrupted by a veteran member branding her "homophobic".
The Home Secretary was given an enthusiastic reception by supporters (Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)Ms Braverman told delegates the Government had been too "squeamish" about being labelled racist in a wide-ranging diatribe that sparked an immediate backlash. She said: "The wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe in the 20th century was a mere gust compared to the hurricane that is coming."
And the cabinet member, widely tipped as a future party leader, went on: "In poll after poll, the British public have been clear: immigration is already too high. "And they know another thing. That the future could bring millions more migrants to these shores."
Ms Braverman brazenly claimed the Tories are the "trade union of the British people" in a speech that saw her heckled by London Assembly member Andrew Boff. Mr Boff, who has been a party member for over 50 years, branded her speech a "homophobic rant" and accused Ms Braverman of making the Tories seem "transphobic and homophobic".
He reacted to a segment of Ms Braverman's address in which she claimed the UK "would go properly woke" under Keir Starmer. She ranted: "Highly controversial ideas are presented to workforces and the public as if they are motherhood and apple pie. Gender ideology. White privilege. Anti-British history."
Mr Boff was led away after heckling her, saying there's "no such thing as gender ideology" and calling it a "homophobic rant". He told reporters: "It's making our Conservative Party look transphobic and homophobic. This isn't what our Conservative Party is all about."
Ms Braverman also came under attack after blaming Labour for the asylum system chaos, saying: "And it is Labour that turbocharged their impact by passing the misnamed Human Rights Act. I am surprised they didn’t call it the Criminal Rights Act."
Natasha Tsangarides, associate director of advocacy at charity Freedom from Torture, said: "Despite a cost-of-living crisis and collapsing public services, she continues to use marginalised groups as cannon fodder to win cheap political points.
“Instead of showboating and scaremongering, the Home Secretary should be focusing all her efforts on rebuilding the asylum system so that we can be confident we are providing protection to those who need it.
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"We’ve seen the backlog grow under her stewardship, with over 175,000 people living in limbo. These are men, women and children who have fled the most unimaginable horrors and are just trying to rebuild their lives in peace.”
And Labour Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Suella Braverman's speech was devoid of practical policies and divorced from the reality of Tory failure over the last 13 years.
"She had nothing to say about the knife crime killing our children, the epidemic of town centre crime undermining our communities or the collapse in prosecutions under the Tories which means more criminals are getting off.
"Nor did she mention the 1000 people who have arrived on small boats since Tory conference started, all because she has totally lost control of border security."