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.
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Following the Shadow Justice ecretary’s appearance in Epping, Mr Farage released a 76-second video on social media.
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.”
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.”
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Robert Jenrick's response to Reform UK attack in full as he takes aim at Zia Yusuf
The Shadow Justice Secretary said: "I see Reform's former Chairman, Zia Yusuf, has unfortunately pushed another two lies about me. One of which he's already had to delete.
"The first is a video from November 1, 2022. The interview that Zia selectively clipped was about the Manston holding centre, where illegal migrants are processed when they first arrive.
"I was eight days into the job of Migration Minister. Manston's capacity was 1,600, but it then had 4,000 people there. There had just been a fire bombing of the processing centre which had thrown the system into chaos. Order was collapsing. I was reassuring people this wasn't going to happen.
"That the state had somewhere, regrettably hotels, for these migrants to go temporarily. 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 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. What's the truth? Before I was Immigration Minister, I was against mass and illegal migration, but I’ll freely admit I didn’t realise just how broken our border and migration system was.
"From the moment I became Immigration Minister, the gravity of this crisis hit me. Terrorists coming here on small boats. Billions being wasted. Horrific illegal migrant crime. Hotels blighting towns. Unlike others, I visited the communities affected and saw the harm up close.
"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.
"Suella Braverman and I spent that year fighting tooth and nail for the changes we needed on both legal and illegal migration. We set in train the closing of 100 hotels, made possible by the fact small boats fell by over a third, the only time they’ve fallen, before or since.
"But we knew that wasn't even close to enough. We needed a fundamental change in policy and law. When it became clear such changes weren't going to happen, I resigned and campaigned for them from the backbenches. I tabled the amendments to the Rwanda Bill to make it effective, which the Government rejected.
"Ultimately, I rebelled and voted against a Bill that I knew wouldn't work. Only 10 other MPs out of 650 joined me. And from that day until today, I have kept fighting for what's needed.
"The immediate detention and deportation of all those coming illegally. The removal of all those here illegally. And of all foreign criminals. A proper halt to mass migration through a legally binding cap. Including no visa renewal for those here but not contributing.
"The truth is: the country's in a mess. It's far from the border that's broken. We need real change across the board, and we need it now. False and petty attacks do not meet the moment."
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Interactive map reveals how many migrants have entered on Keir Starmer's watch - find out the number in YOUR area
Two interactive maps reveal the scale of migration into Britain with more than 90 per cent of councils “gaining asylum seekers” since Sir Keir Starmer swept to power last year.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has dubbed the bombshell findings a “national scandal”, declaring Labour had "opened our borders and accelerated the invasion of our country".
Iraq illegal migrant return deal agreed as Labour hails 'stronger relationships'
In the backdrop of last night's bombshell Epping ruling, the Government has agreed a new deal with Iraq to return illegal migrants as part of wider moves to limit small boat crossings.
The deal, signed by Home Office minister Dan Jarvis, will set up a formal process to return Iraqis who have arrived in the UK with no right to stay in the country.
Mr Jarvis signed the agreement during a visit to the UK by Iraq’s deputy foreign minister Faud Hussein.
The Home Office said the accord would allow the "swift" return of illegal migrants.
Jarvis, the MP for Barnsley North, said: "By working together on security, development and migration challenges, we are building stronger relationships that benefit both our countries whilst tackling shared challenges like organised crime and irregular migration."
WATCH: Labour minister Torsten Bell reacts to Epping ruling
More councils considering action over migrant hotels - is yours one of them?
Councils across the UK are gearing up to take legal action to remove asylum seekers from hotels in their areas.
All 10 councils controlled by Reform UK will "do everything in their power to follow Epping's lead", according to party leader Nigel Farage. Tory led Broxbourne Borough Council also said it is considering taking similar action.
It comes after the Conservative MP for the Hertfordshire town, Lewis Cocking, admitted that failures from previous Tory Governments led to a huge asylum hotel blunder.
Responding to a CCHQ advert which listed the perks given to asylum seekers, Mr Cocking said: "This makes us look silly as we gave them all this too, which is why we are in the mess we are in today.
"Completely unacceptable, they should be put in detention centres and deported."
The ten Reform UK councils are:
- Derbyshire County Council
- Doncaster Council
- Durham Council
- Kent Council
- Lancashire Council
- Lincolnshire Council
- North Northamptonshire Council
- Nottinghamshire Council
- Staffordshire Council
- West Northamptonshire Council
Richard Tice says migrant protests were result of 'people’s genuine frustration'
Richard Tice said people in his Skegness constituency were 'grateful' for intervention
| PAReform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice has said migrant protests were a "reflection of people’s genuine frustration."
Tice, who is the MP for Boston and Skegness, said: "On multiple occasions, I’ve asked the Home Secretary in the House of Commons when will this smash the gangs strategy work, when will the boats stop coming and we never get the answer.
"The protests we’re seeing currently are a reflection of people’s genuine frustration.
"The reality is that in Skegness there’s been one hotel and its use has been much less than it once was and I think people are grateful for that.
"There are many other areas that have got a much worse problem than we have. I’ve also highlighted with the police and local council my concerns about the illegality of immigration coming from Bulgaria and Romania into Boston."
What is the 'deportation petition' demanding?
A petition signed by more than 145,000 Britons is demanding the closure of migrant hotels and the deportation of those who had been housed there.
The petition's description states: "The Labour Party pledged to end asylum hotels if it won power. Labour is now in power.
"It has transpired that the migrant hotels may stay open for at least the next four years.
"We want to see the migrant hotels shut down now and all illegal migrants housed in them deported immediately."
More than 32,000 illegal migrants have been placed in 210 migrant hotels, the latest Home Office data has shown.
However, the figure is down compared to a peak under the previous Tory Government.
Responding to the petition, the Government said: "We are working as fast as possible to close asylum hotels and increase the removal of people with no right to be in the UK, but we inherited an asylum system in chaos, and we cannot fix it overnight."