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Former Immigration Secretary Robert Jenrick has criticized Rishi Sunak for not taking legal immigration seriously and is the latest high-profile Tory to slam the Prime Minister for refusing to discuss policy. Became a member of parliament.
Mr Jenrick claimed both he and former home secretary Suella Braverman pressed Mr Sunak on the importance of the issue, but Mr Sunak “didn’t want to talk about it”.
The former minister appealed to Mr Sunak to cut legal immigration, but said the Prime Minister had “taken the view” that the issue was “not important”.
His intervention echoes similar comments made by Mr Braverman just four days ago, when he accused Mr Sunak of not caring about undercutting legal immigration figures. panorama on monday.
In an interview with GB NewsSpeaking on Friday night’s show, Mr Jenrick said:
“It was an issue that I had cared about for a long time. I shared that conviction with Suella Braverman, who was then Home Secretary.
“She and I met with the Prime Minister approximately every two weeks to discuss Home Office issues such as boat mooring, security and police enforcement.
“We never talked about legal immigration because the prime minister didn’t want to talk about legal immigration.”
He added: “I think the Prime Minister, like all Prime Ministers, has taken the view that legal immigration is not the issue and that leaving the EU is more about taking back control, not reducing the population.” he added. I don’t agree with that. ”
Mr Jenrick called for a “change of course” and warned the UK was “clearly on the wrong path” over record net immigration levels.
“The fact is that the number of people crossing the Channel is currently increasing. So whatever happens before or after the next general election, it’s important to me that we fundamentally address some of these important issues. It’s about taking a different approach.
Mr Jenrick, a close ally of Mr Sunak, was appointed immigration minister, overseeing the government’s plans for illegal immigration.
He resigned in December and accused Sunak of not making enough progress on Rwanda’s asylum plan, which was aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration.
Mr Sunak said reducing illegal immigration and stopping small boat traffic would be key priorities as prime minister.
But Mr Jenrick’s intervention will increase pressure on the embattled prime minister, who has already faced criticism for failing to treat large numbers of legal migrants with the same urgency. .
He was criticized on the same issue by Ms Braverman in an interview with the BBC.
She said on Monday that the prime minister had refused to meet her for a year to discuss ways to reduce the number of legal migrants to the UK.
Lecture on BBC panoramaMs Braverman said: ‘I don’t think the Prime Minister necessarily assumes that this is an important issue for the British people.
“As Home Secretary myself, it was difficult for me to even have a meaningful conversation with him on this matter. I had several written exchanges over 12 months and submitted policy proposals. , he refused to talk to me.”
This comes as Mr Sunak faces growing concerns from Tory MPs, some of whom are calling for him to be replaced as leader.
A No. 10 spokesperson said Mr Sunak had “stated unequivocally that current levels of immigration to the UK are too high”.
They added: “That is why last year we announced the biggest policy package ever launched by the Prime Minister to reduce net immigration, meaning that 300,000 people who entered the UK legally last year would no longer be able to do so. It means,” he added.
The spokesperson said the prime minister stressed that he would hold meetings with home ministers throughout 2023 and that attendees could and did raise a full range of issues, including legal immigration.