That was the claim of fighter Suella Braverman on Halloween. For a grueling hour and 40 minutes, she faced the wrath of opposition MPs over the immigration crisis in Manston, but delighted her supporters on the Tory backbenches. In a raucous showdown in the Commons, the combative and embattled home secretary came out fighting, bought some time in her battle for survival and lived to fight another day. The migration crisis, he declared, was nothing short of “an invasion of our south coast”, before adding: “Let’s stop pretending we’re all refugees in distress.” Inflammatory language protested opposition MPs. In her opening statement she insisted she had never ignored legal advice. “As a former attorney-general, I know the importance of taking legal advice,” he said, prompting howls of laughter from the Labor benches. Read more: Illegal immigration ‘out of control’, Braverman claims Immigration center bomb suspect was 66 from High WycombeHome Office source denies Braverman ignored legal advice – Beth Rigby Then, responding to Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, she really started to let her opponents rip. “The British people deserve to know which party is serious about stopping the invasion of our south coast and which party is not,” he said. And then he added defiantly, “There are some who would rather be rid of me.” Great uproar from Labor MPs, before he said: “Let them try! “I know I speak for the decent, law-abiding, patriotic majority of British people from all backgrounds who want safe and secure borders. “Labour is running scared that this party might just hand them in.” Ah, the patriotic majority! The clear implication was that he meant Tory voters and that Labor is soft on immigration and asylum seekers. Tory MPs loved it. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 1:20 Living next to Manston migrant centre Well, most Tory MPs. Unfortunately for the home secretary, the first Tory supporter called by Vice-President Dame Eleanor Laing was grumpy old Sir Roger Gale, whose constituency includes Manston. He claimed the crisis was Ms Braverman’s fault because she made the decision not to award further accommodation. Not true, he insisted in response. Then came an exchange that was pure pantomime as she said she was willing to apologize for mistakes but not for things she hadn’t done. “They say I sent a top secret document,” he protested. “This is wrong. “I am said to have sent a document on cyber security. This is wrong. “I am said to have sent a document about intelligence agencies that would endanger national security. “This is wrong, wrong, wrong.” OKAY. We got the message, Suella! Her cheerleaders on the Tory backbench were led by her Brexiteer ally Sir John Redwood, who fawned: “She spoke for the nation saying we have to get this problem under control. “I hope all men and women of good will approach her.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:44 Video from inside the migrant center Her Brexiteer ally Steve Baker, now Northern Ireland minister, sat next to her on the front bench. Well, it’s not like there’s any pressing work in Northern Ireland at the moment. And her mentor and guru, the veteran right-wing and vigilante crusader Sir John Hayes, to whom she sent an official document from her private email address and was fired for it, slipped into the room quietly, midway through the long session. Wisely, Sir John did not try to catch the eye of the chair, which was until then held by another vice-president, Nigel Evans. Towards the end of the lengthy exchange, the Home Secretary revealed her true feelings about her predicament. “This political witch hunt is about ignoring the facts of the problem,” he said. It can. And while she put in a combative and uncompromising performance that thrilled her supporters, she’s still not out of trouble. Witch hunt or not.
