Home Secretary Suella Braverman says her number one priority is to fix illegal immigration – and that “nothing was being ruled out” when it came to dealing with the small boats’ crisis.
In her first major TV interview since returning to her job as Home Secretary, Ms Braverman admitted the current situation was “unacceptable.”
Speaking to Liam Halligan on GB News, Ms Braverman also told how it was time to start asking legitimate questions about how the ECHR operates in Britain.
She told GB News: “Nothing has been ruled out at the moment. And we are in the process of preparing our bill to be introduced into Parliament very soon. My personal views are well known. What I want to deliver is a system whereby if you arrive here illegally, you’ll be detained and thereafter swiftly removed. And if we can deliver that system and that framework, then we shouldn’t need to leave the ECHR.”
Ms Braverman also said those who were protesting against Britain’s asylum crisis shouldn’t be derided as racist or bigots.
She said: “Violence is never acceptable and intimidation, harassment, any forms of abuse to anybody should be condemned and I condemn them in the fullest possible terms. And it’s clear that we have an unsustainable situation in towns and cities around our country whereby, because of the overwhelming numbers of people arriving here illegally and our legal duties to accommodate them, we are now having to house them in hotels. And that is causing understandable tensions within communities, pressures on local resources and is frankly unsustainable.
“I very much understand people’s frustrations with hotels being occupied by large numbers of illegal immigrants or asylum seekers. I think anyone contemplating violence, harassment or intimidation should desist from doing that.
“It is not an acceptable way to voice your concerns or frustrations. We are all frustrated with the situation that we are currently finding ourselves in and, and it is, it is clear and undeniable that there are really serious pressures on communities. And saying so does not make you racist or bigoted. “
When dealing with the issue of Northern Ireland, Ms Braverman said it was “vital” we safeguard what we gained from the Brexit vote.
And when pushed over whether the matter could even lead to her leaving the Government she said: “I’ve resigned in the past because I’ve found the terms of previous agreements intolerable. I don’t support selling out Northern Ireland and giving the EU a foothold in the United Kingdom.”
She also described the situation with David Carrick as “unforgivable” and that it was right for the Met Commissioner to be very forward-leaning in his apology to the victims.
In a wide-ranging interview she also addressed the criticism that often comes her way saying: “I see my role as telling the truth and fixing the problem and sometimes the truth is uncomfortable for some people – and they get upset by hearing the truth. I’m not going to shy away from telling the truth to the British people and for the British people. That’s my role as Home Secretary. I think there is a tendency to apologise for what Britain did for the world historically and be a bit shy about our greatness. Looking forward, I’m very optimistic about our future. I believe in the genius of Britain, what Britain has brought to civilisation, to culture, to science, to statecraft, and I believe those are great foundations which set us up well for the future.”
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Very soon….
Just after the next general election presumably