Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has taken aim at Robert Jenrick after unearthed footage appeared to show the Shadow Justice Secretary boasting about opening more migrant hotels.
Mr Jenrick, who previously served as Immigration Minister under Rishi Sunak, joined protesters outside an asylum hotel in Epping over the weekend.
Following the Shadow Justice Secretary’s appearance in Epping, Mr Farage released a 76-second video on social media.
**ARE YOU READING THIS ON OUR APP? DOWNLOAD NOW FOR THE BEST GB NEWS EXPERIENCE**
The Reform UK leader said: “When he was Immigration Minister, just a couple of years back, things were very different.
“Here he is boasting that he’s going to open more migrant hotels than all the ministers that went before him.”
Mr Farage then played footage of Mr Jenrick admitting that he had procured more hotels than both Suella Braverman and Priti Patel.
“Under him as Immigration Minister,” the Reform UK leader explained, “we got up to 56,000 people who crossed the Channel by boat living in hotels.
“He put more people in hotels than even this Labour Government.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage blasted Robert Jenrick
|REFORM UK
In his social media post, Mr Farage described the Newark MP as “no friend of Epping”.
The number of illegal migrants living in hotels has dropped from a peak of almost 60,000 to 32,000 under Labour.
However, Mr Jenrick last night defended himself from attacks made by Reform UK.
The Shadow Justice Secretary told GB News: “Let me be very clear, Zia Yusuf from Reform put that out without any context.”
Robert Jenrick joins anti-migrant protests in Epping | GB NEWSTaking to social media, the Newark MP also accused Reform UK of “false and petty attacks”.
He added: “The idea I was 'bragging' about opening hotels, or that I thought they were a good thing, is clearly absurd. A complete lie.
“On the October 27, 2022, two days into the job, I said in Parliament: ‘It is disgraceful that this country is spending hundreds of millions of pounds on accommodating people in hotels.’
“On November 7, 2022, I said: ‘It is essential that we exit the hotels altogether.’
The Bell Hotel faced several protests before the High Court's landmark ruling | PA“The whole Manston episode sickened me. The second lie, now deleted, was doctored footage.
“Zia said it showed me ‘proudly’ announcing more migrant hotels. It doesn't.
“In the full clip, I'm clearly talking about putting illegal migrants on disused military sites. A policy Nigel Farage backed a few weeks ago.”
In a direct response to Mr Farage's video, Mr Jenrick said: "I spent the year fighting with Suella Braverman to override human rights conventions so we could detain and deport all illegal migrants.
Nigel Farage | PA "Why not focus on Starmer and the country, instead of pushing false and petty c**p?
"The big thing now? Getting all patriotic councils to follow Epping’s lead and pursue injunctions.
"If any council - Conservative, Reform, whoever - wants any legal help, please get in touch with my office. Likewise any lawyer who believes in borders and wants to help pro bono."
Following Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp's letter to Yvette Cooper, critics also pointed out that the Croydon South MP was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Immigration Compliance when The Bell Hotel opened in 2020.