A row has broken out between the Tories
and Reform about previous comments on
migrant hotels. So, who said what and
when? At the center of the argument is
an interview Robert Generick did with us
here at Sky News back in November 2022,
a week after he was appointed
immigration minister in Rishi Sunnak's
government. You're talking about
procuring extra hotels and that is
fantastic. But the fact that you having
just been in the job for a handful of
days are having to do this suggests that
when Sella Braman was asked in the House
of Commons yesterday whether she herself
had stopped the procurement of extra
hotels and she denied that. Well, that
suggests that perhaps she wasn't tell
being entirely truthful. No, that's not
correct. More hotels have been coming
online almost every month throughout the
whole of this year. So, so Braven and
her predecessor Pretty Patel were
procuring more hotels. What I have done
in my short tenure is ramp that up and
procure even more because November
historically has been one of the highest
months of the year for migrants
illegally crossing the channel.
>> John, we're showing that clip in its
entirety because that's what reform has
been sharing uh to try and attack Robert
Genrich.
>> Yes, significantly they're attacking Mr.
Genrich rather than the Tory leader for
now, Kem Bay. Uh but of course there are
both labor and reform quite like to try
and embarrass or catch out Mr. Genrich
over what he said then back then when he
was a minister for immigration in Arishi
Sunnak's government and what he says now
because they are rather different. Not
the interesting bit in that little clip
we just saw was where he said I've what
I've done in my short tenure is ramp
that up. In other words, get the numbers
in hotels up. Now of course these Tories
are saying get them down. Now, in
response to what Zia Ysef has been
saying today, uh Mr. Genrich has tweeted
this. He says, uh the interviewer that
Zia selectively clipped was about the
Manston Holding Center, that's in Kent,
where illegal migrants are processed
when they first arrived. He said, "I was
8 days into the job of migration
minister. Manston's capacity was 1,600,
but it had 4,000 people. There had just
been a firebombing of the post
processing center which had thrown the
system into chaos. Order was collapsing.
So yes, he's defending his record as a
minister, but he is saying rather
different things. Now you mentioned chem
and whilst there is disagreement between
reform and the conservatives over what
Robert Gri may have once said, this
seems like the conservatives are
following reform's lead in urging Tory
councils to bring about their own legal
challenges. Chemi Badino has written to
Couttori Council leaders urging them to
fight uh legally uh asylum hotels. Uh
she sent a letter to all conservative
control councils pledging her support to
them fighting asylum uh hotels in their
area. And in terms of what she wants
them to do, she she's written this. I'm
encouraging conservative council leaders
to take the same steps if your legal
advice supports it. the same steps as
Eping Forest Council. Then she goes on,
"You may also wish to take formal advice
from planning officers on the other
planning on the other planning
enforcement options available to your
council in relation to unauthorized
development or change of use. It was a
planning ruling that Mr. Sir, sir Steven
gave in the high court uh because of
change of use that the count the owners
of the hotel had not fulfilled the right
obligations there. So we've got um the
Tory party and reform both saying take
them on. Um so Mr. Farage has said that
all their councils will he wants them
all to take on bring legal actions. It's
not certain that that many of the dozen
or so reform control councils have
planning jurisdiction. So that may not
happen. Mr. Generick's been talking also
about um lawyers pro bono coming to the
aid of these Tory councils. Uh he's also
said um if you're tonight he said if
you're a lawyer and wants to help secure
our borders contact me. Meanwhile, as a
little postcript, let me just tell you
this. Sir Steven, the judge who uh made
that controversial ruling, um turns out
he was a Conservative party candidate
four times. 87 Birmingham Hodgej Hill,
92 Strangford in Northern Ireland, 2001
Starbridge, 2004, the Hodgegill
bi-election when Liam Burn was elected.
So, uh four times quite a lot, isn't it?
He's not just a one oneoff accidental
candidate. So, um I wonder whether I
don't know whether some of the other
parties may have attacked him over his
Tory leanings, but of course it's not
it's not the dumb thing to attack
judges, is it?
>> But we know by the use of that clip,
they certainly watch Sky News. John,
thank you very much indeed.