Who is James Cleverly, Britain’s new Home Secretary?

James Cleverly, who will leave his position leading the Foreign Office to become Britain’s Home Secretary, is generally seen as less ideological and more of a team player than his predecessor at the Home Office, Suella Braverman.

He will inherit a department dealing with the fallout from Ms Braverman’s confrontation with Britain’s largest police force, London’s Metropolitan Police, over pro-Palestinian marches in the capital.

Also on his agenda: a decision expected Wednesday by the Supreme Court on the legality of the government’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, a signature Conservative policy that division with the public.

When asked if he intended to distance himself Reflecting on the populist rhetoric of his predecessor, Mr Cleverly told Sky News: “I intend to do this job in the way that I believe best protects the British people and our interests.”

In his most recent role, Mr. Cleverly oversaw Britain’s foreign relations amid the uncertainty caused by Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union and the wars raging in Gaza and Ukraine.

Mr Cleverly, whose mother came to Britain from Sierra Leone, served in the army and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel as an army reservist.

A strong supporter of Brexit, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Conservative Party after the 2019 general election. Before becoming Secretary of State, he served as Secretary of Education from July 2022 to September 2022, and previously held a series of junior ministerial positions.

More recently he represented Britain when war broke out in the Middle East and made a number of trips to the region. He visited Israel days after the Hamas attack on October 7 and met survivors and officials to highlight British support for the Israeli government.

Last week he visited Saudi Arabia, where he said in a statement that he was “focused on diplomatic efforts to secure the release of hostages, to ensure that foreign nationals can leave Gaza, to deter any regional escalation and to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid. aid on a large scale.”

Mr Cleverly also visited Ukraine’s capital Kiev twice while he was foreign minister, most recently in June when he met the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to reiterate Britain’s support before a conference in London focused on reconstruction.

Many analysts view Mr. Cleverly as less polarizing than Ms. Braverman, and he is unlikely to be as tough as his predecessor in dealing with certain issues, especially immigration. He has said his three priorities as Home Secretary will be “protecting Britain”, “stopping the boats” – referring to the increased numbers of immigrants crossing the English Channel from France, often in rickety ships – and “supporting our police.” to keep us safe.” These are all fully in line with the stated government objectives.

He has previously spoken out against the use of a former military barracks in Essex, southeast England, to house asylum seekers, a policy Ms Braverman had announced.

Mr Cleverly, who represents Braintree, a town near the site, said in a Facebook message in March that the location was “not suitable for asylum reception” because of its remoteness and limited transportation infrastructure in the area.