Priti Patel quits as Home Secretary as Liz Truss elected new Tory leader

In her resignation letter to Boris Johnson, shared on social media, Ms Patel said it was her “choice” to continue her public service from the backbenches, when Ms Truss formally takes up her post as Prime Minister on Tuesday (September 6).

While she pledged her support for the new leader, she said it was “vital” that she continued to support the policies she had pursued to tackle illegal immigration – including the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda.

“It has been the honour of my life to serve as Home Secretary for the last three years,” she tweeted.

“I am proud of our work to back the police, reform our immigration system and protect our country.”

Her departure comes amid reports that Ms Truss is planning to appoint Attorney General Suella Braverman as Home Secretary when she begins assembling her new cabinet.

Fiercely loyal to Mr Johnson, she was one of the few cabinet ministers not to declare their support for either Ms Truss or her leadership rival, Rishi Sunak.

Her three years in office have been marked by a series of controversies – not least her attempts to stem the flow of migrants crossing the Channel.

Earlier this year she signed what she described as a “landmark” agreement with Rwanda to send refugees to the east African state to claim asylum there.

However, the first deportation flight, which had been due to take off in June, was grounded amid a series of legal challenges and so far, no deportations have taken place.

Since then, the numbers crossing the Channel have continued to rise with the daily total topping 1,000 for the second time this year on Sunday.

In her letter to Mr Johnson, Ms Patel argued that it was “vital” to press on with the policy, signalling that she would continue to champion the scheme from the backbenches.

“As we know, there is no single solution to this huge challenge and the Government must tackle the full spectrum of issues to halt the illegal entry of migrants to the UK,” she said.

Her departure came after it was announced that another ally of Mr Johnson – Tory Party co-chairman Ben Elliot – was also standing down.

Earlier in the House of Commons, Ms Patel faced accusations of overseeing a rise in gun and knife crime as she defended her record as Home Secretary.

Ms Patel’s defence of her time in office came hours before she announced she will resign as a minister once Liz Truss formally becomes Prime Minister.

She told the Commons she is “proud” of her time at the Home Office, which has seen “some of the biggest reforms on security, migration and public safety”.

But she faced questions about crime rates after several high-profile violent incidents over the summer, including the deaths of nine-year old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in Liverpool and pensioner Thomas O’Halloran, 87, in London.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said “successive Conservative home secretaries” are responsible for a “serious problem” with violent crime.

Ms Cooper paid tribute to the families of those caught up in violent incidents in recent months and said: “Stabbings are now 60 per cent higher than in 2015, yet the number of violent criminals caught is at a record low.

“There is a serious problem in this country with gun crime, with gangs, with knife crime.

“Not my words, but those of the incoming prime minister. So why have successive Conservative home secretaries allowed it to get this bad?”

Ms Patel responded by accusing Labour of not supporting the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which she said “had all the right deterrents in place to go after criminals”, while the Government has supported the police “every single step of the way”.

As Home Office questions began, she had said: “Before I answer today’s questions and start questions, if I may, I’d briefly like to remark on the last three years of Boris Johnson’s prime ministership under which I’ve served as Home Secretary.

“This morning, a written ministerial statement was tabled in my name outlining the work of the Home Office, this department over the last three years on our manifesto commitment and with that, of course, some of the biggest reforms on security, migration and public safety which the Speaker’s (Sir Lindsay Hoyle) just spoken about.

“I’m proud to serve in this Government and I’d like to thank the Prime Minister, Home Office ministers past and present and a wide range of officials.”

Shadow policing minister Sarah Jones also criticised Ms Patel’s record, saying “on her watch far more people are a victim of crime”.

She added: “Police officers are forced to use food banks and the police have declared no confidence. What does the minister think the Home Secretary is most proud of: criminals laughing in our face as they get away with it, or thousands more people across this country blighted by crime?”

Crime and Policing Minister Tom Pursglove defended his boss, claiming Ms Patel has “done a sterling job”, and that she can be “proud of seeing, nationally, burglary being down 24 per cent, neighbourhood crime down by 33 per cent, vehicle offences down by 28 per cent, the fact that we’ve got 72,000 weapons off our streets compared to 2019”.

Ms Patel also told MPs the French are “friends” as she discussed tackling Channel crossings, just weeks after incoming Prime Minister Ms Truss said during the Tory leadership race the “jury is out” on whether President Emmanuel Macron is a “friend or foe” to the UK.

The Home Secretary also defended the Government’s Rwanda policy, telling the Commons: “This partnership is very clear in terms of standards, the treatment of people that are relocated to Rwanda, the resources that are put in and also the processing of how every applicant is treated.”