Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf has launched a blistering attack on Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick, insisting he must apologise for his immigration record and his appearance at recent Epping demonstrations.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Yusuf condemned Mr Jenrick’s participation outside an asylum accommodation facility, accusing the Conservative MP of misrepresenting himself to demonstrators.
He said: “Robert Jenrick knew about that programme to essentially smuggle Afghans into the country, knew about it under the protection of parliamentary privilege, and did nothing. The meltdown comes as Nigel Farage’s migrant hotel row with Robert Jenrick also explodes.
“I think that basically forfeits your right to do the things you just described, and then start carving out a political brand to solve problems that you knew about and helped create.
“But one thing I will say, as someone who was chairman of the party and helped set up the team that vets defectors: you only see the people who actually defect.
“You don’t see the many, many people who try to defect and do not. That’s what I will say. We have taken the minority a relatively small minority of profile Tories who have turned out well.
“I’m obviously not going to we weren’t you’re not going to compromise the integrity of our process, right?
“Look, Reform UK is focused on solving the country’s problems.
“By the way, I’ll also say this: people can change their opinions, that’s fine.
“And what I would say about people like Robert Jenrick in that clip where he talks about his ancestors getting on a boat earlier than more recent ones and says that immigrants, great immigrants, built this country is that if he came clean and said, ‘Yes, I said those things, and I have now completely changed. I regret my record as Immigration Minister,’ that’s one thing.
“But totally misrepresenting it? I think he should be apologising to the protesters, the mums protesting in Epping, not going there and presenting himself as a solution without doing anything.”
Labour has branded Jenrick a “disgrace” for joining Sunday’s demonstration in Epping, pointing out that Eddy Butler, who established the outlawed neo-Nazi terrorist organisation Combat 18, was present at the event.
The opposition party highlighted what they called Jenrick’s hypocrisy, noting he had previously “proudly boasted about ramping up the procurement of asylum hotels when he was immigration minister.”
Jenrick’s office has been contacted by the Express for comment.
Labour demanded that Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch take action against her shadow justice secretary, calling for her to “demonstrate that she is strong enough to stand up against this challenge to her authority and to basic decency.”
An associate of Jenrick dismissed the criticism, stating: “No idea who this guy is and Rob didn’t speak to him. Rob just spoke with peaceful protesters.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has joined the assault on Jenrick, branding him a “fraud” in a social media video that featured historical footage of the Shadow Justice Secretary discussing migrant accommodation procurement.
Farage highlighted that during Jenrick’s tenure as Immigration Minister, the number of channel-crossing migrants housed in hotels reached 56,000, stating: “He put more people in hotels than even this Labour Government.”
The Reform UK leader shared clips showing Jenrick acknowledging he had secured more accommodation facilities than predecessors Suella Braverman and Priti Patel.