Cleverly to build bridges with police and prioritise 'stop the boats' pledge

Rishi Sunak has appointed James Cleverly as home secretary in a move intended to repair relationships with senior police officers and reassure rightwing Tory MPs after the tumultuous tenure of Suella Braverman.

- Rajeev Syal  , Aletha Adu

The MP for Braintree, who backed Liz Truss to become prime minister, was expected to hold urgent talks with the Metropolitan police commissioner, Mark Rowley, after Braverman's claims that the police were biased, Whitehall sources said.

Sunak's decision to hand Cleverly his second great office of state is also meant to reassure traditional hard-right supporters of Braverman that they still have influence over key policies on immigration and policing.

In his first comments as home secretary, Cleverly said his two main priorities would be to stop small boats crossing the Channel from France and to keep people safe.

"As the home secretary I am absolutely committed to stopping the boats as we promised, but also making sure that everybody in the UK feels safe and secure going about their daily business knowing that the government is here to protect them," he said outside the Home Office.

Asked if he wanted to distance himself from some of the provocative language used by Braverman, Cleverly replied: "Well, I intend to do this job in the way I feel best protects the British people and our interests."