Suella Braverman Mocked for Claiming to Visit Non-Existent Border Between Italy and Turkey

Although no such border exists, Suella Braverman has been ridiculed for claiming she visited a "land border" between Italy and Turkey.

The former Tory Home Secretary made the bizarre claim during a guest-hosting appearance on LBC radio Thursday morning. She talked about a wall built by Italy to curb migration, saying: "Italy has reinforced their borders. They built a wall. I went to see that wall. They built a wall on the land border between Italy and Turkey. They’ve got drones, armoured vehicles, soldiers, and the numbers crossing that border have plummeted."

However, her comments quickly sparked a backlash on social media, with users pointing out that Italy and Turkey are not geographically adjacent, making the idea of a land border between them impossible.

Author Sunder Katwala tweeted, "Suella Braverman claims to have been to the Italy/Turkey land border & seen a wall there!

This is a remarkable claim since the countries are not neighbours!" Author Tim Brannigan posted a map showing Italy and Turkey far apart. Many others mocked her lack of geographical knowledge, suggesting she might need to retake her GCSEs in geography.

Some shared gifs from The Thick of It, a TV show known for its satirical portrayal of politicians, mocking Braverman’s mistake. Otto English, another author, posted a gif of a cartoon girl riding a horse over a rainbow, commenting, "Suella Braverman has just told LBC listeners that not only has Italy built a wall on 'its border with Turkey' but that she has been there 'and seen it.' What a loss to politics."

Braverman later admitted her mistake, tweeting, "Great to join LBC this morning. Thanks for all your great calls. Good discussions on small boats, Israel and Labour’s education policies... And obviously, I meant Greece’s land border with Turkey, which I was honoured to visit. It’s been very successful!"

In November 2023, just a week before her sacking, Braverman had visited Greece, where the government had constructed a 16-foot steel fence along a 22-mile stretch of its border with Turkey to reduce migration numbers.

Braverman was dismissed as Home Secretary by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after being accused of inciting clashes between police and far-right groups at the Cenotaph. The controversy followed her claims that police "play favourites" with protest groups, leading to calls for her resignation.