Miatta Fahnbulleh backs migrant crackdown after ‘awkward’ interview

A cabinet minister has been forced to express her support for the home secretary after previously refusing to back plans to make it harder for legal migrants to gain permanent residency in the UK. Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, on Wednesday declined seven times to say if she agreed with increasing the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain from five to up to 15 years, during an interview with Sky News. Most commented 1 Where’s Marie Curie? GCSE science ‘fails to credit women’ Science 232 comments 2 US withdraws diplomats from Saudi Arabia amid deadly Houthi attacks US news 202 comments 3 Alan Thornett obituary: union leader nicknamed ‘the Mole’ Obituaries 97 comments 4 MI5 spied on NHS founder Nye Bevan for decades History 87 comments 5 Times letters: Failure to protect the elderly in care homes Letters to the Editor 64 comments The next day, Fahnbulleh said that the exchange had been “awkward” due to her belief she should not “lie”. Top stories 1 Tripsnacking? Finally a travel trend I can get on board with Advice She said: “I made three promises to myself when I came into politics. The first was never lie, which has created some awkward moments, including being interviewed by Sophy Ridge [a Sky News presenter] yesterday.” Sky News presenter Sophy Ridge Peter Tarry for The Times Hours later, she issued a clarification, writing on X that she had “made what was meant to be a light-hearted self-deprecating remark”. Advertisement She added: “I didn’t get it right and it hasn’t come off as I intended. I fully support our home secretary and the government’s position on migration reform. As I said earlier this week, it’s absolutely right that people should have to make a contribution to this country in order to earn citizenship.” Top stories 1 High street banks are on borrowed time Saving & Investing 2 Belgium’s most stylish autumn weekend break — and it’s not Bruges Belgium Reforms to earned settlement for legal migrants were set out by Shabana Mahmood last year and a consultation closed in February, with the Home Office yet to publish its formal response. However, the proposals are being resisted by some ministers, who believe that the qualifying period is too long and that changes should not apply retrospectively or to care workers. Shabana Mahmood Stefan Rousseau/PA Fahnbulleh’s stance on the issue has come under scrutiny after she was asked repeatedly during the Sky interview whether she supported the initial proposals. The MP for Peckham, in South London, did say that Mahmood had a “tough job” and had successfully reduced the number of small boat crossings. She added that any reforms for legal migrants should be “based on the principle of compassion, contribution”. Fahnbulleh had criticised the policy in a post on her constituency website. She said that extending the time foreign citizens had to wait before being granted indefinite leave to remain threatened “the process of building cohesion”. Advertisement Other ministers have previously expressed reservations. Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, told The Times last month that the plans, which are expected to be backdated to apply to any migrants who have arrived since 2021, were unfair because they would “ change the goalposts ”. She said that it would hit foreign care workers who had “moved their lives here to look after our loved ones”. Mahmood has been fighting a rearguard action to save her migration reforms. They are designed to address a significant increase in the number of migrants who arrived in Britain after the Covid pandemic, particularly through a visa route for social care workers and their dependents. Mahmood is expected to formally announce her response to the consultation next month, despite significant opposition from backbenchers. More than 100 Labour MPs are opposed to the reforms.