Suella Braverman to attend conference with Hungarian dictator Viktor Orban

Zuela Braverman will attend a key Conservative Party conference next month alongside Hungary’s right-wing dictator Viktor Orban.

The former interior minister and Mr Orban have been appointed keynote speakers at Belgium’s National Conservatism (NatCon) conference.

Orban is widely seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the European Union and has been accused of a crackdown on gay rights and press freedom.

Ms Braverman, who was sacked by Rishi Sunak last November for accusing the Metropolitan Police chief of bias in his handling of pro-Palestinian protests, is likely to face a backlash for appearing alongside the Hungarian prime minister.

Mr Orban previously addressed the annual conference of the International Organization of the Family (IOF), which the Human Rights Campaign describes as “a dangerous activist group that spreads anti-LGBT rhetoric and promotes laws and policies that criminalize LGBT people”.

He also implemented a Russian-style law banning discussion of LGBT+ issues in schools.

A Hungarian news media, Hungary todaysaid the “woke British media” had been “uproar” over Ms Braverman’s attendance at the conference.

The Lib Dems criticized Ms Braverman’s plans to “share a platform with far-right dictators”.

Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson Leila Moran said: “No politician should share the stage with Vladimir Putin’s allies as he carries out his brutal invasion of Ukraine.”

She added it was “shocking” that the former home secretary “thought this was the right thing to do”. She added: “From the cries of the conspiratorial deep state to sharing a platform with far-right dictators, the Conservative Party has gone completely off the rails.”

A supporter of Ms Braverman dismissed the controversy surrounding the meeting, telling daily telegraph: “MP spoke at the same event as another EU leader.”

Ms Braverman spoke at the last NatCon conference in London last May, setting out her hard-line vision for British conservatism and dismissing “experts and elites” amid claims of new divisions in the government over immigration. lashed out.

The then Home Secretary launched into a tirade against multiculturalism, “political correctness”, trans people and identity politics.

She also said the government “needs to reduce overall immigration levels” and said some immigrants needed to “learn English and understand British social norms”.

The conference is a project of the Edmund Burke Foundation think tank, which declares its goal to “strengthen the principles of national conservatism in Western countries.”

When conservative lawmaker Daniel Kawczynski attended a conference in Rome with Orban in 2020, he was forced to apologize from the party and faced calls to be expelled.

A Tory spokesman said at the time: “Daniel Kawczynski has been formally warned that his attendance at the event is unacceptable, particularly given the views of some attendees, which we strongly condemn and who is expected to attend This event.” Demand yourself with higher standards. “