A row has damaged out between the Tories and Reform about earlier feedback on migrant lodges, so who mentioned what and when?
His look got here amid a disaster at an asylum seeker processing centre in Kent, which had change into severely overcrowded – with migrants sleeping on the ground and households being housed in marquees.
Politics newest: Councils plan authorized challenges to migrant lodges
The house secretary on the time, Suella Braverman, had additionally been accused of permitting the state of affairs to develop by failing to obtain ample various lodging – equivalent to lodges – for migrants to be taken to.
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Mr Jenrick on lodges in 2022
“So, Suella Braverman and her predecessor, Priti Patel, were procuring more hotels. What I have done in my short tenure is ramp that up and procure even more because November, historically, has been one of the highest months of the year for migrants illegally crossing the Channel.”
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Council wins asylum resort case
Quick-forward virtually three years, and this clip has been seized on by Reform UK as proof that Mr Jenrick “boasted” about what number of migrant lodges he had opened.
That is a doubtlessly damaging accusation, given the now shadow justice secretary not too long ago joined protests outdoors a migrant resort in Essex.
Mr Jenrick responded by accusing Reform of posting a “selectively clipped” video that did not embrace the context in regards to the Kent processing centre.
To an extent, he has a degree.
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Nigel Farage’s celebration has posted clips of Mr Jenrick talking from 2022
Pic: PA
On the time, the federal government was preventing accusations that they have been risking an costly court docket motion from migrants claiming they have been being detained unlawfully.
The minister’s response was to level out that they have been sourcing various choices to verify this did not occur and to stop order breaking down in Kent.
Mr Jenrick has additionally pointed to different feedback he made on the time saying, “it is essential we exit the hotels altogether” and describing the costly resort invoice as “disgraceful”.
However that is to not say Robert Jenrick hasn’t undergone fairly a pronounced shift in each language and substance with regards to migration.
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Mr Jenrick has accused Zia Yusuf of “pushing false and petty crap”
Pic: PA
On the time, this wasn’t a stunning view from a minister generally thought-about to be within the centre of the Tory celebration.
However Mr Jenrick’s time as immigration minister noticed him transfer additional to the proper.
As he has since mentioned himself: “I could see the breakdown of the British state was doing immense damage. It angered me, and it motivated me to do absolutely everything to fix the problem.”
The next months noticed Mr Jenrick considerably harden his place, to the purpose that he resigned over the federal government’s strategy.
However the greater contradiction Reform is attempting to get at by selecting this struggle is across the Tory document.
It’s a proven fact that using lodges to accommodate asylum seekers peaked at simply over 55,000 whereas the Conservatives have been in energy.
Equally, it is a proven fact that authorized migration reached document ranges on the Tories watch.
Mr Jenrick can pretty declare that – within the closing 12 months of his front-bench profession – he did go additional than most to attempt to change this.
However he cannot change the info from the time.
Reform is aware of that – simply because it additionally is aware of the Tory document on migration is among the massive pull elements bringing their voters over to them.