‘I Did NOT Make A Mistake’ | Robert Jenrick REFUSES To Apologise For Doctored X Post

[00:00:00]Before we talk about that, there has been a story and I think we have to uh approach this and you would understand.

[00:00:06]Yes.

[00:00:06]>> Um Joe White is the immigration minister in the Labor government.

[00:00:11]>> The new immigration minister.

[00:00:12]>> Um uh you apparently deleted a voice recording of her where he quoted you quoted her as saying, "I don't care if we stop the boats." Can we can we play this clip quickly? Is that all right?

[00:00:25]Have we got the clip? Let's just And then you can answer it.

[00:00:27]>> Yeah, by all means.

[00:00:28]>> Let's do it.

[00:00:28]>> I agree. I agree and and my my focus is is to make sure that we stop those votes and so we actually >> I don't care who stop the vote but my priority but my priority >> yes okay >> right Rob people are saying that you doctorred that so that you could just have her saying I don't care but in that you can hear a bit like Trump and the BBC that she said the opposite. What's your take? Help me out.

[00:01:04]>> Well, it's very confused to be perfectly honest. Um, a group of locals who were at the meeting or new people who were at the meeting sent me a recording because my constituent is actually next to to Joe's in North Nottinghamshire and she appears to say with one breath that she wants to to stop the boats then with the next breath I don't care about stopping the boats. Uh, so I made the I thought perfectly reasonable point of putting that out into the public domain and asking her to explain what is her actual position. Now she says that the recording uh isn't quite right and that if you have a better quality recording, she's saying something different. So look, I am a fair-minded person. I said late last night, you know what? I'll I'll delete this. Let's give her the benefit of the doubt and let's see what she actually does. make a mistake in putting it out there in the first place?

[00:01:56]>> No, I don't think so. But look, I'm I'm I am prepared to give people the benefit of the doubt. I don't know exactly what happened at this meeting because I wasn't there. It's obvious that um uh recollections vary because >> God, you like the royal family. That's what the queen said.

[00:02:11]>> Some of the folks who were there uh left thinking uh that she was weak on this issue. She says that she wasn't. In fact, she's she's very tough. We'll have to see.

[00:02:21]>> Full in full audition. He said, "I don't care who will stop the boats, but my number one priority is to stop those boats."

[00:02:26]>> Well, let's see. Let's see. The point I actually made in the tweet was this.

[00:02:30]>> Andy Burnham doesn't give us stuff about stopping the boats. And I stand by that 100% because we've now heard from him uh on the steps of number 10 >> in various uh announcements over the course of the last few days, including the the ones that you just mentioned.

[00:02:47]>> I don't think he has mentioned immigration stopping the boats once. I I could tell you I find that astonishing.

[00:02:54]I can tell you he hasn't mentioned immigration, the welfare benefits budget, net zero, or a judicial uh call it what it is, rape gang inquiry. He hasn't mentioned that now. And do you remember do you remember Jeremy when he was standing in that bi-election in Makerfield, he said everything he did if he was member of parliament or prime minister would have to pass the Makerfield test by which he meant he would be guided by the common sense views of people in places like Makerfield. Well, it's funny, isn't it, that as soon as he got elected and has walked into number 10, he doesn't mention immigration stopping the votes at all. He wants us to all forget about it. Well, we're not going to forget about it.

[00:03:36]>> But do you first people have come across on small votes already? What is he, Shabban Mammud, and now this new minister, uh, Joe White going to do about it? Reform are going to hold them to account every single day because we would stop the boats not in 10 years. We do it in our first.

[00:03:53]>> Do you welcome any of Burnham's announcements? And I include in that rough sleeping VAT on fuel, the two pound bus fair and especially today the 20% cut in business rates for clubs, pubs and live music. Do you welcome as the shadow chance of reform any of those?

[00:04:09]>> Of course. Of course I do, Jeremy. Look, people are really hard up at the moment.

[00:04:12]People are finding life very tough. We need to support people and small businesses. My problem is is twofold.

[00:04:19]One, it feels like he's going an inch where you need to go a mile. He's waited years to be prime minister. I mean, 16 years since he first stood for leader of the Labour Party. And yet, this is it.

[00:04:30]These small policies like chucking sweeties out, you know, this is it.

[00:04:35]>> And secondly, where is this stuff going to be funded from?

[00:04:39]>> Well, this is this is that was my >> everything that he's saying seems to either be unfunded or he's got some very vague answer, you know. Let's go through them. The first thing he said was he was going to uh cut VAT for electricity bills. Uh reform said that in March incidentally and we said we were going to fund it by scrapping net zero subsidies like heat pumps and electric vehicles. He he doesn't have a plan as to how to do that. Uh the the minister responsible for the policy that he's canning the digital ID uh cards came out immediately and said well they weren't funded anyway. So that's that that's clearly not funded. I think everyone accepts that now. Then yesterday he said that um he was going to do his sort of next policy, >> the buses.

[00:05:23]>> The buses.

[00:05:23]>> But he did announce overnight, I should drop this into you. It's reported he will raid climate project funds. Well, that's good, isn't it?

[00:05:30]>> Well, well, yes. Yeah. Well, of course it is. I want to get I don't want to send any uh foreign aid to to to rich country. I want to spend money on British people. But Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, came under a bit of scrutiny on a rival uh show to yours yesterday morning and couldn't explain it at all. No, it all it she certainly didn't understand how that was that was going to work. And then today he says he's going to cut a bit of business rates for pubs. Obviously, that's good.

[00:05:56]Although reform want to phase out business rates for pubs and capital.

[00:05:59]>> Is he stealing reform's policies, Rob?

[00:06:01]No, he he's he's going he's just doing little things here and there. If what the thing is there's a big disagreement at the heart of politics today. Do you basically think the country is all right and it needs some tweaks around the edges that I would argue is Andy Burnham summed up. It was Kia Starmer as well and it's Kem Bay uh as well because she says that Britain isn't broken. Or do you think the country is in a mess and needs radical change? That is what reform is driven by. The sense that if we don't grip this country, it's going to slip away and it requires urgent radical.

[00:06:35]>> So you would be cynical as I have been as to where this money is coming from, but he's playing politics. She would acknowledge as I've done the bar won't very high, but he's better at playing politics.

[00:06:45]>> Well, sure. I mean, he my daughter said he reminds her of a supply teacher. you know, one of one of these jovial supply teachers who comes in and wants to please everyone.

[00:06:56]>> Well, David Badox said the independent intergment, but I had this basically have a clue what he's doing.

[00:07:01]>> Well, it looks to me a bit student politics if I'm completely honest, but listen, I could be wrong. Um, what you mustn't uh fail to watch on Monday is I've been talking about this all morning. Isabel Oakshot, we've done some great work. We have had an undercover guy. Man, of course, is the the jewel in the crown for for Andy Bernham and Piccadilly Gardens. I spent 15 years there, so I can talk about it. used to be wonderful. It's not called crackadilly for anything else. Let me tell you the man that did the he he was off of drugs four times in one hour on on thing rats the size of rabbits and people fighting and no police inside. So that lad interest in in tackling homelessness. We all want to see people who are sleeping rough, Brits in particular sleeping rough off the streets and into a better life. And I actually worked with Andy Berno on that uh many years ago. But his record is not good on this. you know, he made some progress in the early years and then it all slipped away and for I think each of the last five years, rough sleeping in Manchester has got worse and worse and worse. So, it's a very lordable aim, but I I don't think he has the answers to that one.

[00:08:01]>> You were the shadow justice secretary and I have to say I this story has almost eclipsed and I think quite rightly any of those small sweet announcements. uh yesterday in incredible sort of intervention. Um two thugs who were part of a threesome that dragged PC Andrew Harper to his death in 2019.

[00:08:21]They were given 13 years each. The guy that drove the car 16. His incredible incredible uh widow Lissy um hearing that these two could be released six years into 13-year sentences. Front page of the Daily Telegraph Rob today. It is deplorable that freeing prisons early is acceptable. One can talk about the family and the victim and all of that, but as an exjustice, just just explain this to me and to people who listen and watch this. Why the hell, and I'm sure that tourists were part of this, but why the hell if I say to you, Robert Jenner, you've done that, you're going to jail for two years. Is it any sort of punishment that you know the minute the door shuts, you'll be out in two years?

[00:09:02]Why are we not insisting that criminals are not released early? This early release thing that that Lammy came up with, we're talking about people who view images online could be out. This is not just burglars and stuff, not that a burglar gets caught. This is wrong, isn't it? Fundamentally wrong. It's completely and utterly deplorable. Look, firstly, the sentences that were handed down were pitiful. So, so much so that actually the law was changed. Harper's law was brought in so that if you kill a police officer, you get a mandatory life sentence.

[00:09:34]>> She worked on that and she said, "I feel let down by the very politicians who I work with."

[00:09:38]>> The irony was that her own husband's killers got a very short sentence and she changed the law so that that would never happen again in the future. But then to add insult to injury, Lambi uh and now the new justice secretary, Alex Norris, are pursuing this early release policy that means that they're only going to serve half of the original sentence. I find it absolutely astonishing. And the sad thing is the answer is within our grasp. 20% of people in our prisons are foreigners.

[00:10:09]You got to get these people out of our country. So instead of releasing pedophiles and rapists and actual killers like those of PC uh Andrew Harper, what you've got to be doing is picking up the phone to the likes of Pakistan or Jamaica, countries where we have a large number of their citizens in our prisons and saying take these people back.

[00:10:31]>> And what if they say no very quickly?

[00:10:32]What about that that Rodale pedophile that Pakistan have said no? I'd stop visas. I'd get strong with these countries. We are not a weak country or we don't need to be a weak country.

[00:10:42]Shabbanmood could say to the Pakistanis, >> I'm not going to issue another visa until you take Shabir Ahmed back.

[00:10:50]>> Now Andy Bernham says on on on the back of Lissy Harper, bless her heart and it's in every paper on the basis of her calling it deplorable. This is Andy Bernham, I will review prisoner release.

[00:11:00]My question to you is does he have the power to stop it? Well, it is in legislation now and many of us, myself included, uh, fought to stop that when it was going through parliament. So, he wasn't an MP, I guess, at the time. Uh, but his colleagues all trooped through the division lobbies to vote for for this plan. And it was it was made very, very clear to the Labour party. Uh, I said it myself across the dispatch box that you are voting to allow rapists, pedophiles, and killers out. Not just as you say people for supposed minor crimes.

[00:11:34]>> Absolutely. Although you need to make that point. It's so important.

[00:11:36]>> They knew what they were doing and they proceeded to do it. Of course, it's always within the gift of the government to come forward with emergency legislation and change course and that's what I would urge them to do.

[00:11:46]>> The only thing I'd say about that is I always find it astonishing when people say and I'll be interested in Burnham's response to this. Oh no, we can't do this. Well, A and when you've got a massive majority, but B and two, and this might sound flippant, it's not meant to. They changed the hours that you could pub drink within three days to accommodate England. They did it with British Steel. This is a disgrace for that woman for for victims. What does it say to victims and victims families? Oh, I tell you what, you he did that to your husband or your wife or your business or your home. But you know what? We told him it was only really 40% that he's good. I think I honestly think I'd rather of all the things and I think that that part of our justice system. We can talk about prisons. We can talk about judges. Morally to me that's so wrong. It's totally wrong to say 10 years Christian for what you've done.

[00:12:31]Don't worry mate, you'll be out in three. That's ridiculous.

[00:12:33]>> I totally agree. And our politics feels very broken to be the MPs are now on holiday until September. And yet you've got these big challenges. Well, I for one would be very happy to go into parliament today and would gladly vote for someone like that uh to be back in jail or for Shabir Ahmed to be deported.

[00:12:51]There are so many big challenges facing the country and our politics feels so small at the moment that we're discussing these little sweeties that Andy Bernham is handing out >> and I and I I completely agree. I supported the touris massively um in them saying parliament should come back for a day. I think it's fundamentally wrong. Uh this is an interesting one for you. uh Al Kahn's K has turned down a government role overnight. He was offered a job I think as prisons minister ironically um he resigned over spending when John Healey the then defense secretary resigned. John Healey now was the shock turn. He's the chancellor and it almost at that moment I thought to myself Bham's going you want the money go and find it but um >> would that tell me that there are no real intentions of funding the mod if Al KS isn't coming back into government and that John Healey has gone against what he believes in? Well, let's wait and see. I I would find it astonishing if John Healey resigned as defense secretary saying that Karma's plans left the country defenseless and then took the reigns himself at the Treasury over from Rachel Reeves and didn't pump in billions and billions more into defense.

[00:13:57]But look, it's a difficult thing for him now. He's got to find this money. We at Reform are very clear that we want to increase defense spending and keep the but we're not going to do it by hiking people's taxes. Everyone's been battered by high taxes already, 60%. We're going to do do it by cutting waste, no more foreign aid to rich countries, >> 11 billion.

[00:14:16]>> No more net zero subsidies, and we're going to get millions of people off welfare and back into the workplace. If you take those three things, do you believe Labor is going to do any of those things? No. We know that they're wedded to foreign aid. They've just replaced Ed Milliband amazingly with somebody even more extreme on net zero.

[00:14:35]Miata Fatim Bullah and on welfare there's not a cat in hell's chance that the Labour party backbenches are going to vote to do what's necessary. Do you not think Do you not think that Andy Bernham as the political capital right now when a 400 MPs 379 >> have said to him we so believe in you right we are we are definitely right we we we're we're all for you he's got them there why doesn't he have the political foresight to stand up and go you might not like this but I'm going to tell you how it is unless we cut a sizable amount off the welfare benefits budget whether or I announce that we start drilling or I announce that I'm putting the Navy in the channel. All of you 400 and me are toast. And I'm telling you, if we do that, hear me out, we will outf fox the right and we'll outf fox everybody. And it's in its bingo. Why won't he say any of that? Why hasn't he got the political intelligence? I >> I just don't think that he sees the country as being in the mess that it truly is. He thinks that you can just do little bits here and there, be Mr. Nice Guy, and everything's going to muddle through. It's not like that. The country is going to go bankrupt unless we cut this wasteful spending, let alone spending money on defense or schools or hospitals or the other things that people would want us to be investing in right now. And I just do not see it.

[00:15:51]Welfare reform, I I don't believe Labour's going to do. In fact, I noticed last night that Steven Tims, the highly experienced welfare minister who' actually done a whole report into how to fix the benefits and has been moved to a different department. Has he?

[00:16:03]>> He's now gone to housing. That doesn't suggest to me that they're very serious about fixing this. Two more things before we do that from yesterday. I just want to um very very quickly shadow a chancellor obviously Gary Lker and 120 other British millionaires tell the the prime minister overnight they actually want to pay more tax on their wealth.

[00:16:19]There is this rumor of course that the way that Burnham will fund all of these is with a wealth tax. Where do you and reform stand on that?

[00:16:26]>> Well, we want the rich to pay their fair share for sure.

[00:16:29]>> Are they not already? Um well they we they pay more proportionally than in many other development for the same crap services but we are a workers party so uh you know my instincts have always been if we find waste we cut taxes we do it for working people. I've done that already where I said no tax on overtime or we'll get rid of Rachel Reeves's tax. No. No. And for this reason because I don't think it is in the interest of working people to chase away investors from this country because you need those people here. They're the people who invest in businesses, spend money in the British economy. If you lose them, then it's a it's a loss to everyone. And we've seen that in recent times.

[00:17:08]Remember Richy Sunnak and Jeremy Hunt changed the non-dom rules. Many of us felt it was pretty unfair that you got people living alongside us who are not paying as much tax. But actually, what's going to be the result of that? Less money for everyone. I do think this I do think this clamor of let's let's this isn't me defending people who've done well because I'm into aspiration and building businesses but I think that you never hear the thousands of millionaires multi-millionaires who have quit this country in the last however many years and their tax the money they would have paid on tax has disappeared from you money gone to America to Dubai all these other parts of the world look the problem with Andy Bernham is this he has advocated in recent years for tens of billions of pounds of new taxes or tax rises. In fact, a reform we've calculated as 38 billion pounds or three half grand for every family in the country. This is everything from a death tax if your mom or dad died uh taxes on capital gains on your family home on a holiday uh in the UK. even a tax, would you believe it, on a parking space at work. I if Andy Burnham keeps messing around over the course of this summer, floating taxes here and there, allowing these hairs to run just as Rachel Reeves and Kharma did, is going to cause immense damage to the British economy.

[00:18:27]Investors are going to leave. It's going to be very damaging for businesses who aren't going to know which way to go.

[00:18:33]He's got to rule out these taxes, be very clear with the public, and not allow this dangerous climate to styy the British economy for months.

[00:18:42]>> I've got one, we've only got a little bit time. We've got This is a yes or no.

[00:18:44]Do you think that these sweets, these little announcements every morning at 6:15, do you think he's laying the ground for a general election, Rob?

[00:18:50]Well, >> I think it's very possible. And so, reform have to be ready. And in fact, we are ready. We're getting our candidates in place. We're building our infrastructure. We're writing our manifesto. We're building a plan so that if we were lucky enough to walk uh up Downing Street after that general election, we wouldn't be talking about these minor things. We'd be talking about how do we stop the votes? How do we change things? How do we get the economy going again? A proper plan to fix this.

[00:19:14]>> I know your man, Sam, and I know you, but I just wanted you to say that um um if you need any media help, I am your man. Yesterday, yesterday the new cabinet met in a road with some wine, and there was a couple of hot mic moments with uh Mr. at Mr. Streeting saying, "Let them all out." You yesterday decided to appear on ITV's Good Morning Britain. I have my own theories about those two. Um, you had your own Hot Mic moment, didn't you?

[00:19:40]Which actually is bloody brilliant.

[00:19:41]Watch this. This is brilliant.

[00:19:43]>> Robert J. That is very clear. Thank you very much indeed, um, for joining us this morning.

[00:19:48]>> 7:35 still to come on Good Morning Britain. If a young person in your family is about to head off traveling this summer, >> oh dear, I think it wasn't a waste of time. I think Robert Jen gave us very clear answers and on the police investigation, it's not a waste of time for him to make clear that he believes there's no police investigation. So, it was I mean, it was good he came on the program.

[00:20:10]>> Um, and we're very grateful for his time.

[00:20:13]>> Yeah, whatever. So, don't start me on those. Um, you see, I just >> Why did you do it if it was a waste of time, Generic? And did you leave your microphone up deliberately?

[00:20:23]>> Uh, well, I I it wasn't deliberate, but I do stand by those words. In fact, it was a good job it wasn't something stronger than that. You know, you go on a program and and what a farce, by the way, that you're being interviewed by Ed Balls, a a former Labour cabinet minister. half his mates, including his own wife, are sat around the cabinet table and he's interviewing me about what's going on in British politics and he didn't ask me a single question about reforms plans for the cost of living or the economy. When I tried to say it, they they they cut me off. So, look, I did think it was a bit of a waste of time to be perfectly honest, but I do believe in going on the media. There's no point in going on. They got no bloody viewers.

[00:21:01]>> You have to kind of you have to left after the Jeremy Car show finished.

[00:21:04]Listen, the hot mic thing, I just want to give you the heads up because, you know, when you leave the studio Oh, yeah. Just don't say this was crap until you're out. I think there's microphones everywhere.