The safest place for a minister in a crisis is meant to be the despatch box. The thinking is that it allows an under-fire minister to influence and even control events. This is what Suella Braverman tried to do this evening when she faced MPs in the Commons chamber following a series of allegations over both her handling of security matters and the detention of migrants under her watch.
After apologising this morning for using her personal email address to handle official documents on seven occasions, Braverman appeared in the Commons to address the other crisis facing her: the situation at the Manston migrant centre in Kent. While the disused airport is designed to hold up to 1,600 people, the current number being processed there is thought to be closer to 4,000. There have been reports of migrants being kept there for weeks and outbreaks of disease.
Facing allegations that she failed to sign off on measures which could have eased pressure at the overrun processing centre, Braverman said she ‘never ignored legal advice’ on keeping asylum seekers at the centre.
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