New British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled his cabinet, which retained a number of prominent ministers, and reappointed former Home Secretary Suila Braverman, who faced criticism for her "hardline" stances towards immigrants.

Sunak pledged - after he was officially appointed head of government by King Charles III today, Tuesday - to get the country out of its deep economic crisis, and rebuild confidence in the political system.

He said outside the Prime Minister's residence in 10 Downing Street: "I fully appreciate how difficult things are. I know I have work to do to restore confidence, after all that has happened. All I can say is that I am not afraid. I realize the high position I have accepted and hope that I will be able to fulfill his requirements."

In his speech, Sunak warned that the next stage may witness "difficult decisions", as he is studying reducing public spending in order to correct the "mistakes" attributed to former Prime Minister Liz Terrace during the brief period in which she occupied the position and chaos reigned, at a time when the country is heading towards Economic recession.

Reuters news agency said Sunak is expected to cut spending levels to plug an estimated 40 billion pound ($45 billion) gap in public finances due to the economic slowdown and rising borrowing costs.

Huge fortune

Press reports pointed to the paradox between this reality in Britain and the situation of Sunak, who became the richest person to reach the prime ministership in British history.

According to the Sunday Times list in May, Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy were ranked 122nd among Britain's richest people, with a net worth of 730 million pounds ($837 million), and Sunak was at the time the first prominent politician mentioned On the list since its release in 1989.

The Guardian newspaper (The Guardian) headlined its front page today with the question, "Does Rishi Sunak's wealth of 730 million pounds make him too rich to be prime minister?"

Also, the British opposition criticized Sunak for his family's huge wealth and his previous career in investment funds, suggesting that he is not concerned with the cost of living crisis and does not feel it.


Critics have said Sunak - the 42-year-old former finance minister - is so far removed from reality that he does not care about the concerns of ordinary people during a period of mounting economic crisis.

And Labor MP Nadia Whittom wrote - on Twitter - "Sunak and his wife are sitting on a fortune of 730 million pounds, which is twice the estimated wealth of King Charles III."

"Remember that whenever he talks about making tough decisions that the working class will pay for," she added.

The former left-wing leader of the opposition Labor Party, Jeremy Corbyn, who is now an independent MP, said Sunak would "take care of the interests of the 1%" of the population.

"The 99% will pay for protection," he added on Twitter.

Cabinet line-up

Hours after taking office, Sunak decided to keep Treasury Secretary Jeremy Hunt in the hastily appointed post by Liz Truss in the middle of this month, to calm the financial storm caused by her economic program.

Sunak also retained James Cleverly as Secretary of State, and Ben Wallace as Secretary of Defense.

He also decided to reappoint Suila Braverman - who is like him of Indian origin - as Minister of the Interior, less than a week after her resignation from her position.

Braverman resigned after admitting she had mistakenly sent an official document from her personal email, in violation of government rules.

Braverman has faced criticism for her plans to reduce the number of immigrants and reject asylum claims, and for her support of plans to deport refugees from Britain to Rwanda.

On the other hand, the European Commission called on the new British Prime Minister to comply "fully" with the agreements concluded with the European Union after Brexit, especially those related to customs arrangements in Northern Ireland.

In a congratulatory tweet to Sunak, Commission Chairperson Ursula von der Leyen said: "In these trying times for our continent, we count on a strong relationship with the UK to defend our shared values, while fully adhering to our agreements."