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.
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 said that, has since been deleted.
Ms White, who replaced Mike Tapp as migration minister, has since shared an extended version of the clip in which she said: “I don’t care who will stop the boats… my number one priority is to stop those boats.”
She wrote on social media: “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 said that Andy Burnham “clearly doesn’t give a stuff about stopping the boats” and he called for a general election.
Earlier on Wednesday, migrants tried 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 full of people at Equihen-Plage near Boulogne-sur-Mer on the north coast of France.
Footage showed the boat leaving the shore with some of the migrants waving to others left behind in the water.
French authorities were seen handing out life jackets and trying to rescue those in the sea.
Crowds of men, women and children had descended on the beach, and police were seen stopping one family with a baby from boarding the boat.
