Exclusive:
Staggering figures reveal £23,600 was spent on media and voice training for Suella Braverman in 2023 when she was Tory Home Secretary – before she was sacked for a media outburst
Suella Braverman spent more than £23,600 of public money on media and voice training when she was Home Secretary – before being sacked for comments in the media.
The former Tory cabinet member, who this week sparked a backlash by claiming the UK could become “the first Islamist nation with nuclear weapons”, received the support to improve her presentation skills in 2023. Newly-emerged Home Office figures reveal £23,668 was spent on media and voice training for Ministers, and The Mirror has confirmed Ms Braverman was the beneficiary.
One Tory source described it as “mad”. The sum is equivalent to the salary of a teaching assistant. And it would take an average constituent in her Fareham, Hampshire, constituency around seven months to earn the amount spent on her training.
Ms Braverman headed the Home Office until she was sacked by Rishi Sunak in November 2023 – ironically for unauthorised media comments berating the police. Conservative HQ was tight-lipped when asked by The Mirror whether this was an appropriate use of public funds.
The former Tory leadership hopeful has spoken out about wasteful use of public cash in the past. She said in 2022: “In so many areas we are spending too much in an inefficient way.”
The Home Office said there was no other spending on voice and media training for ministers between 2022 and 2024. In a written answer to Labour backbencher Uma Kumaran, Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson revealed the sum had been spent in 2023.
When asked by The Mirror if he had any publicly-funded media training, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp – who was Policing Minister under Ms Braverman – quipped: “I don’t think I’ve had any media training at all in Govt, including at the Home Office. Which probably shows sometimes…”
In her 2023 Conservative conference speech she claimed her party would win the General Election and taunted Labour: “I know they have tried to make me into a hate figure because I tell the truth.”
The eye-watering sum came to light in a week when Ms Braverman was criticised following a speech to a Donald Trump-supporting think-tank in Washington, DC. She suggested Britain could become “the first Islamist nation with nuclear weapons”, with the UK falling “into the hands of Muslim fundamentalism” within 20 years.
Ms Braverman regularly came under fire for her media interventions. Shortly before she was kicked out, she described homelessness as a “lifestyle choice” on social media. She was eventually sacked for accusing police chiefs of “playing favourites” with pro-Palestinian protesters.
The Mirror has contacted Ms Braverman’s office for comment.