Robert Jenrick was appointed immigration minister just over 12 months ago by his close political ally Rishi Sunak. At the time, the assumption was that he had been put there as a Downing Street stooge to keep a close eye on his boss, Suella Braverman.
The then home secretary’s inflammatory rhetoric on immigration, including describing asylum seekers entering the UK as “an invasion”, was attracting criticism. She was, the prime minister’s supporters believed, on manoeuvres for the top job in the event of the Tories losing the next election.
