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So it’s all a “political witch-hunt”, is it?

That was the claim made by the embattled Suella Braverman on Halloween.

For a gruelling hour and 40 minutes, she faced the wrath of opposition MPs over the Manston migration crisis, but delighted her supporters on the Tory benches.

In a noisy Commons showdown, the combative and confrontational home secretary came out fighting, bought herself some time in her battle for survival and lived to fight another day.

The migrant crisis, she declared, was nothing less than “an invasion on our south coast”, before adding: “Let’s stop pretending they are all refugees in distress.”

Inflammatory language, opposition MPs protested.

In her opening statement she insisted she had never ignored legal advice.

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“As a former attorney general, I know the importance of taking legal advice into account,” she said, provoking howls of laughter from the Labour benches.

Read more:
Illegal immigration is ‘out of control’, claims Braverman

Immigration centre firebombing suspect was 66-year-old from High Wycombe
Home Office source denies Braverman ignored legal advice – Beth Rigby

Then, answering Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, she really began to let rip at her opponents.

“The British people deserve to know which party is serious about stopping the invasion on our southern coast, and which party is not,” she said.

And then she defiantly added: “There are some people who would prefer to be rid of me.”

Cue uproar from Labour MPs, before she said: “Let them try!

“I know that I speak for the decent, law-abiding, patriotic majority of British people from every background who want safe and secure borders.

“Labour is running scared of the fact that this party might just deliver them.”

Ah, the patriotic majority! The clear implication was that she meant Tory voters and that Labour is soft on migration and asylum seekers. Tory MPs loved it.

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Living next to Manston migrant centre

Well, most Tory MPs. Unfortunately for the home secretary, the first Conservative backbencher called by Deputy Speaker Dame Eleanor Laing was grumpy old Sir Roger Gale, whose constituency includes Manston.

He claimed the crisis was all Ms Braverman’s fault, because she took the decision not to commission further accommodation. Not true, she insisted in reply.

Then came an exchange that was pure pantomime, as she said she was willing to apologise for mistakes but not for things she hadn’t done.

“It has been said that I sent a top secret document,” she protested. “That’s wrong.

“It has been said that I sent a document about cyber-security. That’s wrong.

“It has been said that I sent a document about the intelligence agencies that would compromise national security.

“That’s wrong, wrong, wrong.”

OK. we got the message, Suella!

Her Tory backbench cheerleaders were led by her Brexiteer ally Sir John Redwood, who said, fawning: “She spoke for the nation in saying we need to control this problem.

“I hope that all men and women of good will get behind her.”

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Video from inside migrant centre

Her Brexiteer ally Steve Baker, now a Northern Ireland minister, sat alongside her on the front bench. Well, it’s not as if there’s any pressing business in Northern Ireland currently.

And her mentor and guru, the veteran right-winger and anti-woke crusader Sir John Hayes, to whom she sent an official document from her private email address and was sacked for it, slipped into the chamber quietly, midway through the long session.

Wisely, Sir John didn’t attempt to catch the eye of the chair, which was by then occupied by another deputy speaker, Nigel Evans.

Towards the end of the lengthy exchanges, the home secretary revealed her true feelings about her predicament.

“This political witch hunt is all about is about ignoring the facts of the problem,” she said.

Maybe. And while she did put up a fighting and uncompromising performance that delighted her supporters, she’s not out of trouble yet. Witch-hunt or not.

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Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

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Boy dies after ‘getting into difficulty’ in lake in southeast London

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Boy dies after 'getting into difficulty' in lake in southeast London

A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.

Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.

The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.

“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.

The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.

The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.

In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.

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google street view inside Beckenham Place park, Lewisham where a 16 y/o boy is missing after getting into difficulty in a lake
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Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon

Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.

The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.

It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”

Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.

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