Peston puts Jenrick on the spot over Suella Braverman

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Immigrations minister Robert Jenrick has been put on the spot by ITV’s Robert Peston over the home secretary’s handling of overcrowded migrant processing centres in Dover. Asked repeatedly if he could confirm whether Suella Braverman had “personally approved” more hotels to house the asylum seekers, Mr Jenrick claimed “not everything crosses her desk”, before he added that “she had not prevented hotels”. Mr Peston reported that concerns had been raised to ITV that Ms Braverman had ignored orders to procure more hotels to house the migrants despite being told “a lot more alternative accommodation” was needed. 

Mr Peston said: “On this issue of treating [asylum seekers] as humanely as possible, the Home Secretary received advice that she had to take on more accommodation, then she decided she did not like the advice so she got external advice. I mean, that is extraordinary, is it not?”

Mr Jenrick said: “Well, a number of hotels have come online while Suella Braverman has been Home Secretary.” 

Mr Peston said: “Has she approved any hotels personally?” to which Mr Jenrick replied: “She has approved hotels.”

The presenter then clarified: “Sorry, before she was sacked, did she personally approve any hotels? Before she was sacked.” 

Mr Jenrick said: “The department has made sure that more hotels came online over the course of that period.” 

Unsatisfied with the immigration minister’s answer, Mr Peston said: “I note that you’re not saying the Home Secretary personally approved hotels.” 

Mr Jenrick said: “Well, it is not like everything crosses the desk of the Home Secretary, that she has prevented hotels. 

“There are also, I should say, two competing duties here. One is to ensure that Manston operates in a legal way, which includes that [asylum seekers] do not stay for more than 24 hours. 

“There is also a duty not to leave people destitute and it would be quite wrong for the Home Secretary, or me as the immigration minister, to bail people onto the streets of rural Kent without support when many of these people are children, they are vulnerable people and they should be treated appropriately.” 

Mr Peston said: “The concerns about Suella Braverman that were raised with us were that when she was told she needed a lot more alternative accommodation, she did not order it.” Mr Jenrick then said he “had not seen that” during his time as immigration minister. 

Suella Braverman, in her second stint as Home Secretary in two months, is under mounting pressure to get a handle on the migrant crisis as the Government faces potential legal action over an asylum centre with conditions branded “dire” by senior MPs.

Mr Jenrick estimated about 3,500 people remained at the Manston facility in Kent on Wednesday night – despite its maximum capacity of 1,600 – as Ms Braverman faced questions over what will be done to address overcrowding at the site, as well as small boat crossings in general.

Ms Braverman was also under fire from the prime minister of Albania, who accused Britain of becoming like a “madhouse” with a culture of “finding scapegoats” during a migration crisis where “failed policies” are to blame.

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The Government is currently procuring hotels to relieve pressure on the Manston centre, near Ramsgate, but Mr Jenrick said he suspects it will take roughly seven days for numbers to drop to an “acceptable level”.

The situation had been branded a “breach of humane conditions”, with some 4,000 people thought to have been held at the site and the immigration minister confirmed the Government had received “initial contact for a judicial review” over Manston. 

He said the move was “not unusual” as it concerned a “highly litigious area of policy”.

On Wednesday afternoon, a young girl threw a bottle containing a letter over the perimeter fence to a photographer claiming there were pregnant women and sick detainees in Manston.

The note, written in broken English and addressed to “journalists, organisations, everyone” appeared to suggest 50 families had been held there for more than 30 days despite the centre being built for 24-hour turnarounds. 

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