A Labour minister has demanded an apology after accusing Reform UK of sharing a misleadingly edited audio clip about her stance on migrant boat crossings, reports BritPanorama.
Reform UK posted a clip of the newly appointed Immigration Minister, Bassetlaw MP Jo White, which appeared to suggest she told constituents last year, “I don’t care if we stop the boats.”
A post made by Reform UK’s Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick, which also claimed that Ms White had made that statement, has since been deleted.
Ms White, who replaced Mike Tapp as migration minister, has shared an extended version of the clip in which she clarified: “I don’t care who will stop the boats… my number one priority is to stop those boats.”
She responded on social media, stating: “Robert Jenrick is spreading a false account of what I said at a meeting with my constituents last year. This recording proves what I said. Reform have deliberately twisted my words to mislead the public. They should withdraw their false claim and immediately apologise.”
In his now-deleted post, Mr Jenrick accused Andy Burnham of “not caring about stopping the boats” and called for a general election.
On the same day, migrants attempted to cross the Channel to the UK for the first time since Mr Burnham became Prime Minister.
In a busy day for crossings, migrants were seen racing to board a large boat packed with people at Equihen-Plage near Boulogne-sur-Mer on the north coast of France. Footage showed the boat departing the shore with some of the migrants waving to those left behind in the water.
French authorities handed out life jackets and worked to rescue individuals in the sea. Crowds of men, women, and children gathered on the beach, while police stopped one family with a baby from boarding the boat.
