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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.

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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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Police search for missing sisters last seen three days ago near Aberdeen river

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Police search for missing sisters last seen three days ago near Aberdeen river

Specialist search teams, police dogs and divers have been dispatched to find two sisters who vanished in Aberdeen three days ago.

Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.

The siblings were captured crossing the bridge and turning right onto a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.

Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Image:
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland

Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Image:
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland

Police Scotland has launched a major search and said it is carrying out “extensive inquires” in an effort to find the women.

Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Local officers, led by specialist search advisors, are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit.”

Aberdeenshire Drone Services told Sky News it has offered to help in the search and is waiting to hear back from Police Scotland.

The Huszti sisters. Pic: Police Scotland
Image:
CCTV of the sisters. Pic: Police Scotland

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The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.

Police said the Torry side of Victoria Bridge where the sisters were last seen contains many commercial and industrial units, with searches taking place in the vicinity.

The force urged businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday in case it captured anything of significance.

Drivers with relevant dashcam footage are also urged to come forward.

CI Bruce added: “We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101.”

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Britain’s gas storage levels ‘concerningly low’ after cold snap, says owner of British Gas

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Britain's gas storage levels 'concerningly low' after cold snap, says owner of British Gas

Britain’s gas storage levels are “concerningly low” with less than a week of demand in store, the operator of the country’s largest gas storage site said on Friday.

Plunging temperatures and high demand for gas-fired power stations are the main factors behind the low levels, Centrica said.

The UK is heavily reliant on gas for its home heating and also uses a significant amount for electricity generation.

As of the 9th of January 2025, UK storage sites are 26% lower than last year’s inventory at the same time, leaving them around half full,” Centrica said.

“This means the UK has less than a week of gas demand in store.”

The firm’s Rough gas storage site, a depleted field off England’s east coast, makes up around half of the country’s gas storage capacity.

Gas storage was already lower than usual heading into December as a result of the early onset of winter.

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Combined with stubbornly high gas prices, this has meant it has been more difficult to top up storage over Christmas.

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UK’s first taxpayer-funded injection room to open in radical move to tackle drugs epidemic

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UK's first taxpayer-funded injection room to open in radical move to tackle drugs epidemic

Glasgow has been a city crying out for solutions to a devastating drugs epidemic that is ravaging people hooked on deadly narcotics. 

We have spent time with vulnerable addicts in recent months and witnessed first-hand the dirty, dangerous street corners and back alleys where they would inject their £10 heroin hit, not knowing – or, in many cases, not caring – whether that would be the moment they die.

“Dying would be better than this life,” one man told me.

It was a grim insight into the daily reality of life in the capital of Europe’s drug death crisis.

Scotland has a stubborn addiction to substances spanning generations. Politicians of all persuasions have failed to properly get a grip of the emergency.

But there is a new concept in town.

From Monday, a taxpayer-funded unit is allowing addicts to bring their own heroin and cocaine and inject it while NHS medical teams supervise.

A dirty needle thrown less than 100 metres from the new injection centre
Image:
A dirty needle thrown less than 100 metres from the new injection centre

It may be a UK-first but it is a regular feature in some other major European cities that have claimed high success rates in saving lives.

Glasgow has looked on with envy at these other models.

One supermarket car park less than a hundred metres from this new facility is a perfect illustration of the problem. An area littered with dirty needles and paraphernalia. A minefield where one wrong step risks contracting a nasty disease.

Drugs paraphernalia in a supermarket car park in Glasgow, near the new facility
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Drugs paraphernalia in a supermarket car park in Glasgow, near the new facility

It is estimated hundreds of users inject heroin in public places in Glasgow every week. HIV has been rife.

The new building, which will be open from 9am until 9pm 365 days a year, includes bays where clean needles are provided as part of a persuasive tactic to lure addicts indoors in a controlled environment.

There is a welcome area where people will check in before being invited into one of eight bays. The room is clinical, covered in mirrors, with a row of small medical bins.

Clean needles are provided to lure addicts to inject in a controlled environment
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Clean needles are provided to lure addicts to inject in a controlled environment

One of the eight bays users can inject in
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There are eight bays users can inject in

We were shown the aftercare area where users will relax after their hit in the company of housing and social workers.

The idea is controversial and not cheap – £2.3m has been ring-fenced every year.

The aftercare area
Image:
The aftercare area

Read more: ‘Dying would be better than my £1,000 a month heroin addiction’

Authorities in the city first floated a ‘safer drug consumption room’ in 2016. It failed to get off the ground as the UK Home Office under the Conservatives said they would not allow people to break the law to feed habits.

The usual wrangle between Edinburgh and London continued for years with Downing Street suggesting Scotland could, if it wanted, use its discretion to allow these injecting rooms to go ahead.

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The stalemate ended when Scotland’s most senior prosecutor issued a landmark decision that it would not be in the public interest to arrest those using such a facility.

One expert has told me this new concept is unlikely to lead to an overall reduction in deaths across Scotland. Another described it as an expensive vanity project. Supporters clearly disagree.

The question is what does success look like?

The big test will be if there is a spike in crime around the building and how it will work alongside law enforcement given drug dealers know exactly where to find their clients now.

It is not disputed this is a radical approach – and other cities across Britain will be watching closely.

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