Suella Braverman struggles to cling amid migrants and leaks rows

Suella Braverman struggles to cling on as Tory MP swipes that migrant camp chaos in Kent might be ‘deliberate’ – while others slam France and ex-border chief calls for CRUISE SHIP to be moored in the Channel to take refugees

Suella Braverman is under fresh pressure over the Channel migrant crisis and security breaches today – with a Tory MP swiping that chaos in Kent might have been caused ‘deliberately’ by ministers.  

The Home Secretary is facing demands to come to the Commons to explain using her personal email to send sensitive government information to a backbench ally.

Meanwhile, she is also in the spotlight over conditions at the Manston migrant processing centre, after reports of overcrowding and outbreaks of disease. 

Veteran MP Roger Gale, who represents North Thanet, suggested the Home Office actively decided not to book more hotel space to stop arrivals staying at the reception centre too long. 

Others have criticised France for failing to stop small boats attempting the crossing, while an ex-borders chief suggested mooring a cruise ship in the middle of the Channel where people can be accommodated. 

Suella Braverman is under fresh pressure over the Channel migrant crisis and security breaches today

A group thought to be Channel migrants being brought ashore in Dover last week 

Concern has been growing over the conditions in which migrants are being held while waiting to be processed once they arrive in the UK, and after one of the sites in Dover was firebombed over the weekend.

So far this year, close to 40,000 people have made the treacherous journey from France, crossing the world’s busiest shipping lanes in dinghies and other small boats, provisional Government figures show.

Sir Roger told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘There are simply far too many people and this situation should never have been allowed to develop, and I’m not sure that it hasn’t almost been developed deliberately.’

The Tory MP said he understood that a decision was taken not to book additional hotel space.

‘That’s like driving a car down a motorway, seeing the motorway clear ahead, then there’s a car crash, and then suddenly there’s a five mile tailback,’ he said.

‘The car crash was the decision not to book more hotel space.’

He said he believes it was a decision taken by the Home Secretary, but is not sure whether it was Priti Patel or Suella Braverman. Sources close to Ms Patel have been distancing themselves from the problems, arguing that overcrowding was not as bad before. 

Natalie Elphicke, the Conservative MP for Dover, said Ms Braverman had ‘passion’ but that needed to be ‘translated into actions’, and complained that was being blocked by a ‘rag bag of people who seem to want open borders’.

‘I’ve had many conversations with the Home Secretary about this issue, as you would expect, and I don’t think anyone doubts her passion and determination to tackle this issue,’ she told TalkTV.

‘As we’ve seen before it is a case of actually translating that into actions that will be put into effect and make a difference on the ground.

‘In the most immediate term that does mean stopping the boats leaving France. There are obviously a whole range of other measures, but at the moment a number of those are held up in the courts, a number of those are subject to more legal changes to go through Parliament, so all efforts have to go on stopping those boats and tackling the issue head on.’

Asked why the Government has not got to grips with the issue of Channel crossings, Ms Elphicke said: ‘The small boats crisis is clearly out of control and an entirely fresh approach is now needed.

‘What’s been happening is simply not working, because every single attempt to get on top of this is delayed or thwarted by a rag bag of people who seem to want open borders and don’t seem to want us to get a grip on this particular situation.

‘We’ve seen people object to absolutely everything, object to the new laws coming through, object to any agreements put in place, object to all of the efforts of the Government to try and tackle this issue. That’s really not on because it puts peoples’ lives at risk crossing the Channel, and it also results in this uncontrolled amount of people arriving.’

Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said that in a forthcoming report he makes clear the Home Office and contractors ‘need to get a grip’ of the crisis, telling the Today programme: ‘They need to speed up the processing of migrants, they need to make suitable provisions so people can be moved off site as quickly as possible and housed in humane and decent conditions.

‘The facilities are not set up for people to be staying. It’s not a residential facility. It’s a short-term holding facility which is supposed to process people through.

‘So, the danger is, if people are spending long periods of time in what are very cramped conditions without suitable accommodation, that’s just not acceptable.’

Mr Jenrick visited Manston on Sunday after another watchdog, Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration David Neal, told MPs he was left ‘speechless’ by the problems at the site.

In a post on Twitter, Mr Jenrick said migrants continue to be processed ‘securely’ in ‘challenging conditions’, adding: ‘I was hugely impressed by the staff I met, managing this intolerable situation.’

Kevin Saunders, former chief immigration officer for the UK Border Force, said the system is ‘broken’ and that he would put asylum seekers on a cruise liner.

‘I would put a cruise liner in the middle of the Channel and put all asylum seekers on that, put it in international waters so they can’t claim asylum, because it’s not the UK,’ he told the BBC.

‘This has been mooted before but was kicked into the long grass, but I think it’s worth revisiting.’

He said a cruise liner would have proper facilities and everything that would be needed.

Ms Braverman has not spoken publicly since the latest revelations about Manston and leaks emerged, although Labour has tabled an urgent question in Parliament later.

The Home Secretary did not respond to questions as she left her London home this morning. 

The Home Secretary was fired by Liz Truss after sharing a highly sensitive message to Tory MP Sir John Hayes from her personal email – and accidentally copying in an aide to another MP. 

Her actions constituted two breaches of the ministerial code and raised security concerns.

Mrs Braverman said she ‘rapidly’ reported the mistake, and she was reappointed to Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet when he became Prime Minister last week.

Rishi Sunak in Downing Street launching the Poppy appeal today

But an email seen by the BBC has thrown doubt over her claims about the speed with which she acted.

Mrs Braverman was sent a message at around 8.30am on October 19 informing her she had sent an email in error an hour earlier, the broadcaster said.

Shortly after 10am she responded, telling the recipient to ‘delete and ignore’ the message.

But it was not until around 12pm that the Home Secretary instructed her officials to tell the Cabinet Secretary what had happened, according to a source close to Mrs Braverman.

Confronted yesterday with the minister’s email telling the erroneous recipient to ignore the earlier message, Michael Gove insisted her request was ‘standard practice’.

And he suggested Mrs Braverman is facing opposition because she is ‘brave’ and ‘making changes’, telling the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: ‘You only take flak if you’re over the target.’

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