A Home Office adviser has quit live on air with an extraordinary attack on Suella Braverman.
Nimco Ali said she and the home secretary were “on completely different plents when it comes to the rights of women and girls, and also the way that we talk about ethnic minorities”.
Ali was appointed as the government’s ‘Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Adviser’ by former home secretary Priti Patel in 2020.
But she has since called on Braverman to apologise for saying it was her “dream” to send refugees to Rwanda.
During an interview on Times Radio, she was asked if she was happy to remain in post under the current home secretary.
She replied: “No. I’m committed to ending violence against women and girls, and I think there’s many avenues in order to continue that.”
Presenter Cathy Newman asked if that meant she was quitting as a government adviser.
Ali responded: “I’m just saying that Suella and I are on completely different planets when it comes to the rights of women and girls, and also the way that we talk about ethnic minorities, and specifically people like me who are from a refugee background.”
Asked if it was “a fair upsum” to say her time as a government adviser was coming to an end because of her disagreements with Braverman, Ali said: “I think the fair upsum is that I wouldn’t feel comfortable.
“And I think I can definitely say that I wouldn’t feel comfortable in serving under Suella or actually saying that she is somebody that we probably have the same feminist ideals as.”
A source close to Braverman said: “The home secretary is determined to make our streets and homes safer for women and girls.
“That’s why she has made violence against women and girls one of her key priorities at the Home Office and today backed a new law on public sexual harassment.
“She has already visited a women’s refuge centre to spend time with the women there and hear their stories and experiences.
“She will continue to focus on this policy and the rights of of women and girls to live safely in our country.”