Braverman sacking divides opinion in her constituency of Fareham

Suella Braverman is accused of undermining respect for the police

Allies of former Home Secretary Suella Braverman have said they are "saddened" to hear of her sacking from government.

The Fareham MP was forced from her role after writing a newspaper article accusing the Metropolitan Police of bias in the policing of protests.

Fareham Borough Council leader Sean Woodward said she had been sacked for "speaking her mind".

Fareham Liberal Democrats called on Rishi Sunak to consider suspending Mrs Braverman from the Conservative Party.

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Mr Woodward, who leads the Conservative-run council in Mrs Braverman's constituency, said: "I'm very shocked and very saddened that Suella's career as home secretary should be brought to an end in this fashion.

"I think it's very sad to end up in a situation where you get sacked for speaking your mind and speaking the minds of the British population."

Residents in Fareham who spoke to the BBC were divided in their opinions, with some calling Mrs Braverman "divisive" while others described her as "an asset".

Local Lib Dem elections officer Jim Forrest said Rishi Sunak was right to sack Mrs Braverman, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

He said: "He won't gain back the Fareham votes he has lost if she continues to sneer at her decent and tolerant electors as 'a woke mob'."

He told LDRS that Conservative voters were changing their allegiances "because of their dismay at Suella's habitually divisive and inflammatory language".

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "She inflamed tensions. She also attacked the police, undermined respect for the police, at a really important time."

Harry Kewish, chairman of Fareham Conservative Association, told LDRS: "It is disappointing that her strong traditional views, which are shared by significant numbers of the moral and decent people of the country, and her willingness to voice them, seem not to be reflected in this decision."

Marcus Fysh, Conservative MP for Yeovil, paid tribute to his "very talented" friend.

He told BBC Radio Somerset: "She's sometimes opened herself up to criticism by means of the words she's used - she's always needed to work on that really - so I can understand, in a way, that's becoming a distraction."

BBC South Political Editor Peter Henley said the fact that Mrs Braverman was sacked rather than reshuffled "speaks volumes".

He said: "It will wind up a lot of people on the right of the Conservative party - people who supported the policy on sending people to Rwanda while their case is considered, supported the Bibby Stockholm barge.

"She has the historic status of being the first cabinet minister to be sacked twice from the same job."

Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh described Mrs Braverman as "very talented"

Mrs Braverman was born Sue-Ellen Fernandes in April 1980 - named after Sue-Ellen Ewing, a character in the American TV soap opera Dallas.

Her parents were both of Indian origin and met in London after her father fled Kenya and her mother emigrated from Mauritius to become a nurse.

She studied at Cambridge, then in Paris, gaining a postgraduate degree in European and French law at Panthéon-Sorbonne University.

Following a legal career in the UK and the US, she was elected as MP for Fareham in 2015.

After Boris Johnson's resignation as prime minister, Mrs Braverman was the first to announce she was running to replace him.

She was installed as home secretary by Liz Truss, but was forced to resign within weeks after admitting to sharing confidential documents but was subsequently reinstated by Rishi Sunak.

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