Labour's Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook faced an intense grilling by GB News host Ben Leo after admitting illegal migrants and asylum seekers could be moved to "private sector accommodation" instead of hotels.
Speaking to the People's Channel, Pennycook said that the Government needs to "build more homes" in order to tackle the "chaos" of the migrant crisis in Britain.
Pressed by host Ellie Costello on Labour's target to "end the use of asylum hotels by 2029," Pennycook was questioned on where the Labour Government plans to move the illegal migrants to.
The Housing Minister said: "We do need to take forward new sites and accommodation to get people out of hotels. I think your viewers will understand why that needs to happen.
Ben Leo grilled Matthew Pennycook on illegal migrants being housed in new homes pledged by the Labour Government
GB News
"Hotel accommodation is incredibly expensive and we do need to move people out of there as those cases are worked through, and we are bringing down the caseload in the system.
"But when it comes to housing more generally, this is particularly why we've got such an ambitious 1.5 million new homes target as part of our plan for change, because we've got to build irrespective of levels of immigration."
GB News host Ben Leo then interjected, grilling Pennycook on whether the new houses being built by the Government will be given to those illegally living in Britain.
Pennycook explained: "The Home Office and through contractors like Serco, for example, will take out contracts, so that will in some instances involve private rented sector accommodation.
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The Labour Government has pledged to 'end the use of migrant hotels by 2029'
GB News
"We're going to do that in a slightly different way with local authorities, looking at those locally led solutions, but we do need to move people out of asylum hotels because they are incredibly expensive."
Ben then cited a Government document, which states that the "pressure on asylum hotels will be alleviated through the 1.5 million new homes the Government wants to build".
As Ben asked if the "document is wrong", Pennycook hit back: "Do you think new homes to buy that are freshly built are going to go to asylum seekers? No. I've read the document, and I don't think they're going into new build homes for market sale.
"But they will go, for example, into the private rented sector in some instances. But we've got to build more homes of all tenures to ensure that we've got supply coming through. That would be the case whatever the state of the asylum system."
Pennycook told GB News that the Government would be building new houses 'no matter the state of the asylum system'
GB News
Discussing the record numbers of migrants crossing the Channel, Ellie questioned Labour's efforts to "smash the gangs" as the figures suggest it could be a record year for small boat crossings.
Pennycook told GB News: "We inherited an immigration and asylum system in complete chaos, we do need to restore order to it.
"That was never going to be an overnight fix, not least because the criminal gangs that are profiteering from human misery are very well entrenched. But you know the steps we're taking.
"We've already deported 30,000 people that have got no right to be here, 4,500 foreign national offenders as a 14 per cent increase, so we are turning things around. But it was never going to be an overnight fix."
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