Energy secretary backs migration reform after ambiguous remarks

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 19:32 · Archive

Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has clarified she supports Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's immigration reforms after joking she could not 'lie' about backing them.

Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has clarified she backs Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's immigration reforms after making remarks that appeared to suggest otherwise.

In a Sky News interview on Wednesday, Fahnbulleh repeatedly refused to say she supported the government's plans to extend the time migrants must wait for permanent residency. When asked about this the next day at a journalists' event, she joked that she had made a promise to herself never to lie, which had created 'awkward moments' in her interview. The implication was that she could not bring herself to lie about supporting the changes.

In a statement posted on Thursday evening, Fahnbulleh said: 'Today I made what was meant to be a light-hearted self-deprecating remark. I didn't get it right and it hasn't come off as I intended.' She added: 'I fully support our home secretary and the government's position on migration reform.' The government wants to double the time most migrant workers must wait to qualify for permanent residency from five years to ten years, with the wait for refugees potentially reaching twenty years.

How it is being reported

• Energy secretary appears to U-turn on opposition to tougher migration rulesMiatta Fahnbulleh says reference to ‘awkward’ interview was meant to be lighthearted and self-deprecating The energy secretary has been forced to clarify she backs Shabana Mahmood’s migration policy, after earlier joking that she had not been able to “lie” about supporting a key element of the changes. Miatta Fahnbulleh made the original remarks to a journalists’ event in Westminster, referring to an “awkward” Sky News interview in which she repeatedly refused to say she was in favour of plans to make foreign workers wait 15 years to get permanent residency. Continue reading...The Guardian · 22 Oct, 19:04
• Fahnbulleh says she backs home secretary on migration after comments to journalistsEnergy secretary says she "didn't get it right" over comments she made about a TV interview.BBC Politics · 22 Oct, 18:54

In this story: Miatta Fahnbulleh · Shabana Mahmood · UK

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