SUELLA Braverman admitted there were no safe and legal routes for many people to apply for asylum in the UK during a car-crash grilling for the Home Secretary.
Braverman failed to tell a panel of MPs how an orphaned African teenager – with a sibling in the UK – would be able to apply for asylum from their home country.
The Home Secretary instead replied: "If you're able to get to the UK you're able to put in an application for asylum."
Taking issue with her answer, backbench Tory MP Tim Loughton noted this would involve the orphan entering the country illegally – which Braverman has said she is trying to stop.
Suella Braverman struggles to answer as she's challenged to explain how an orphaned African teenager escaping war could apply for asylum in the UKpic.twitter.com/xetHN7o1e4
— Mirror Politics (@MirrorPolitics) November 23, 2022
Meanwhile, Braverman blamed the disastrous handling of the crisis at the Manston migrant processing facility, which is now empty after being crammed with 4000 arrivals, on people "who are choosing to take an illegal and dangerous journey for economic reasons".
More inflammatory language from the Home Secretary. Incredible to hear her blame people coming to the UK to apply for asylum escaping war and persecution for the Home Office’s disastrous handling of the asylum system, which the Home Office is in charge of. pic.twitter.com/bkn9VOF2Gw
— Migrant Voice 🧡 (@MigrantVoiceUK) November 23, 2022
Answering questions from the Home Affairs Committee, Braverman floundered under pressure from Loughton who pressed the Home Secretary on details of the current asylum system.
When asked “what’s the safe legal route for [the orphan] to come to the UK?”, Braverman replied: "We have an asylum system and people can put in applications."
Scrutinising further, Loughton asked how an asylum seeker would do this.
She responded: "If you're able to get to the UK you're able to put in an application."
Loughton then pointed out that under Braverman’s suggestion the applicant would have entered the UK illegally.
Visibly Struggling to answer, Braverman replied: "If you put in an application for asylum on arrival that would be the process that you enter."
Not relenting, Loughton asked: "How could you enter the UK if you didn't have permission to get onto an aircraft to arrive legally?"
At this point the Home Secretary gave up answering the questions, instead calling for help from her officials.
Permanent secretary to the Home Office, Matthew Rycroft, said that in limited cases people seeking asylum could apply to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees but admitted there are “some countries where that’s not possible”.
In response, Loughton said: "I think the point is that we're short of legal routes other than for specific groups of people that we've generously offered safe havens to."
