The Labor leader used all of his questions on Wednesday in his second showdown against Sunak to take aim at the new prime minister over delays in processing asylum claims, conditions at Manston camp in Kent and to question why Braverman remains in her job. Starmer accused Sunak of bringing Braverman back in just days after Truss sacked her over a data security breach in order to secure her support in his bid to replace Truss as prime minister without a full vote of Conservative members. “He made a terrible deal with her, putting her in charge of Britain’s security just so he could avoid an election,” Starmer said. “He broke ministerial code, lost control of a refugee center and compromised our security. He got one thing right – he finally admitted that the Tories had broken the asylum system. “So why doesn’t he have a proper home secretary, scrap the Rwanda ruse, crack down on smuggling gangs, end small boat crossings, speed up asylum applications and agree an international refugee deal? Start ruling for once and hold hands.” In response, Sunack said Labour’s asylum and immigration policy was “a blank slate” and that Starmer had threatened national security by backing Jeremy Corbyn as Labor leader. In a sign of the continued precariousness of Braverman’s position, Starmer repeatedly linked her reappointment to the broader issues of small boat crossings and delays in sorting asylum claims. He asked Sunak what percentage of small boat arrivals across the Channel processed asylum claims last year and when he was not given an answer he said it was just 4%. “According to the bookies, the Home Secretary has a better chance of becoming the next Tory leader than she does of processing an asylum claim in a year,” Starmer said. “They are only making half the asylum decisions they used to make. That’s why the system is broken – 4,000 people at Manston Air Force Base, massively overcrowded, all kinds of diseases breaking out.” The Labor leader pressed Sunak on whether Braverman had ignored legal advice that people should be moved from the Manston centre, which is meant to handle arrivals within 24 hours, to hotels. The prime minister said he was unable to comment on the legal directives. Starmer replied: “The answer to the question of whether the Home Secretary took legal advice to move people from Manston is yes. He just doesn’t have the guts to say it.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Sunak defended his interior minister. In an opening question from Labor MP Meg Hiller, she asked him: “What will he actually have to do to get the sack?” Sunak replied: “The Home Secretary made a bad judgement, but she has acknowledged her mistake and taken responsibility for her actions.”
