Just as the long-drawn battle between Prime Ministerial candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss came to an end in the United Kingdom, an unexpected resignation from the Cabinet sparked a wave of fresh speculations in the country soon after Priti Patel decided to step down from the UK Home Secretary post.
Mere hours after Liz Truss was elected as the new Prime Minister of Britain, former UK Home Secretary Priti Patel announced that she will be stepping down from her post, and said that she has no plans to serve in the cabinet of the newly-elected Prime Minister.
In a letter to outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Ms Patel wrote, "It is my choice to continue my public service to the country and the Witham constituency from the backbenches, once Liz Truss formally assumes office and a new Home Secretary is appointed."
Despite the speculations of an internal tiff between the two, Priti Patel congratulated Truss on her victory and promised to prove her support to the new Prime Minister. She expressed deep honour to have worked as the UK Home Secretary for the last three years.
Who is UK Home Secretary Priti Patel?
Priti Patel is an Indian-origin British politician, who started serving as the Home Secretary of the country in 2019. In her resignation, Patel has written that she will step down from her post as soon as Liz Truss is officially appointed as the Prime Minister of the country.
Priti Patel has had a long career as a politician in Britain and has been serving as a Member of Parliament since 2010. Patel joined the Conservative Party in 1991 and is now considered one of the senior-most members of the party.
After Boris Johnson announced that he would step down as Conservative Party leader and the Prime Minister, Patel had said that there is a strong chance that she would put herself forward as the new party leader.
Patel was a staunch loyalist to Boris Johnson and was an active part of the Brexit campaign. In her resignation letter, Priti Patel wrote, “From the backbenches, I will champion many of the policies and causes I have stood up for both inside and outside of Government.”
(With ANI inputs)
READ | Priti Patel resigns as UK Home Secretary after Liz Truss wins PM race
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