Ms Patel said it was her choice to return to the backbenches before the new prime minister appointed her cabinet and the Independent understands she had informed Home Office staff she would be stepping down. The foreign secretary has won the competition to become prime minister but will not enter Downing Street until Tuesday. In a tweet Ms Patel said: “Congratulations to Liz Truss on being elected our new leader and I will give her my support as our new Prime Minister. “It is my choice to continue my public service to the country and the Witham constituency from the back once Liz officially takes office and the new Home Secretary is appointed.” Mrs Truss was confirmed as the new Prime Minister after defeating her rival Rishi Sunak to become leader of the Conservative Party. However, it has to wait more than 24 hours to officially break into No 10, despite the cost of living crisis facing the country. She will be asked to form a government tomorrow on a visit to the Queen at Balmoral, Aberdeenshire. At this stage, her cabinet is expected to be formed, ahead of the cabinet meeting which is expected to take place early on Wednesday morning. Ms Patel was thrown a career lifeline by Mr Johnson when she joined his cabinet in 2019. He was forced to resign as International Development Secretary by then Prime Minister Theresa May in 2017 over unauthorized contacts with Israeli officials. Tough-talking, she has long attracted controversy for her views and was kept in her job after a 2020 investigation found she breached the ministerial code by bullying civil servants. He confirmed he was standing down in a letter to Boris Johnson, where he said: “It is vital that your successor supports all aspects of [our] policies on illegal immigration”. Ms Patel listed the Rwanda deal, which is subject to two ongoing legal challenges in the High Court, as flouting internal government advice from the Foreign Office and diplomats. The outgoing home secretary accused “political rivals and left-wing activists, lawyers and campaigners” of trying to block some of her ambitions and said she would continue to champion her causes from the backbenches. Bella Sankey, director of Detention Action, said: “Ms Patel will be remembered for turning far-right fantasies into government policy, for hating lawyers doing their jobs, for flouting constitutional rules and for the removal of thousands of people from their homes, families and children.” Priti Patel praises Rwanda as High Court appeal begins The number of asylum cases dealt with by the Home Office is at an all-time high and the number of Channel crossings has soared since Ms Patel promised to make the route “unviable” in August 2020. Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, told the Independent: “Most people just want an asylum system that is orderly, humane and fair and gives men, women and children who have fled war, conflict and violence a fair hearing on UK soil. . What we have seen in recent years is the opposite.” He urged the next home secretary not to “repeat the mistakes of the past over and over again” but to “address the major weaknesses of an asylum system that is in desperate need of reform”. The charity Freedom from Torture said Ms Patel had “inhabited some of the most appalling morally and legally questionable policies in our country’s recent political history”. Director Steve Crawshaw added: “She has shown a brazen and consistent disregard for both domestic and international law, while her attacks on the right to protest have undermined a key pillar of our democracy. “Her successor has an opportunity to put Patel’s divisive politics behind her and take concrete steps to reform our asylum system, starting with creating safe pathways and strengthening international cooperation so that people fleeing torture and war that they are no longer forced to make dangerous journeys to reach the UK. .” Earlier on Monday, Ms Patel was forced to defend her record in office after being accused of overseeing a rise in gun and knife crime. She leaves office with recorded crime at an all-time high and the prosecution rate at an all-time low. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned of a “serious problem” with violent crime. The Home Secretary said she was “proud” of her time at the Home Office, claiming she had seen “some of the biggest security, immigration and public safety reforms”. Critics called her the “worst home secretary in living memory”, accusing her of presiding over “barbaric” and unclear policies while leaving Home Office morale at rock bottom.
