BBC Question Time audience in hysterics as Fiona Bruce skewers Tory MP
The audience on BBC Question Time erupted in laughter as Fiona Bruce shot down a Tory MP during a discussion about immigration.
Nigel Huddleston's claims the Labour Party had failed to build on the Conservative government's work on immigration were slammed by the presenter of the programme. Ms Bruce pointed out the Tories "didn't actually get anyone to Rwanda," in a nod to the long-running policy which cost the British taxpayer £700million and was hit by multiple snags.
The audience in Aldershot, Hampshire, applauded and laughed as Ms Bruce interrupted Mr Huddleston to state: "Just one minute, just one minute... Nigel, even when you were in government, you didn't actually get anyone to Rwanda. I think it's worth pointing that out."
Mr Huddleston, co-chairman of the Conservative Party, tried to continue his bluster but Ms Bruce allowed other panelists to chip in, including author and broadcaster Sonia Sodha. She also took aim at Mr Huddleston, blaming the state of immigration on his party after their long tenure.
Keir Starmer outlined the country's immigration stance this week, a delivery which has divided opinion. Speaking at a major press conference in Albania on Thursday, he said the UK is in talks to send failed asylum seekers to "return hubs" in other countries.
It led to the exchange on Question Time, which Ms Bruce had to end as tensions became heated. Mr Huddleston, MP for Droitwich and Evesham, had said: "The reality is that Labour had virtually no plans for anything. They spent 14 years in opposition and came into power and didn't have a clue what they wanted to do, whether it was on immigration, or the economy or a whole host of other things.
"I think it a bit reach for Peter (Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, also on the panel) to talk about empathy for care homes and everything else... In terms of what has changed over the last few weeks, I think what has changed for the Labour Party is quite simple - they lost the Runcorn by-election. That's the reason for the change in policy.
"They failed to support all (our) measures... The first thing they did when they came into government was scrap the disincentive, scrap any deterrent (for migrants)."
It was at this point when Ms Bruce, presenter of the show since 2019, raised her hands - and voice - to silence the politician and remind him of the failed Rwanda scheme, which Mr Starmer quickly axed after taking power last year.
It is thought some £700million of taxpayers' money went into the Tories' plan, including £290million in payments to Rwanda, as well as the costs of chartering flights that never left the ground. It also cost the taxpayer to detain hundreds of people and then release them, and to pay for more than 1,000 civil servants to work on the scheme.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Lord Hermer's denial of two-tier justice is a disgrace
This week, Lord Hermer was asked by the BBC about two-tier justice, the idea that the British state treats ethnic minorities more favourably than the white working class. This perception, so corrosive to faith in the rule of law, has become widespread since the crackdown on the Southport unrest last summer. Never one to read the public or political mood, Starmer's lawyer ally simply issued a blunt and contemptuous denial. Such claims are 'frankly disgusting', he said, and indeed 'offensive' to police, prosecutors and courts. He added that instead of criticising the British justice system, politicians 'need to get behind it, not seek to undermine it'. (Perhaps he should have a word with the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, who earlier this year had to intervene to block sentencing guidelines which she herself labelled 'two-tier'.) It's a woefully tone-deaf performance, suggesting that Hermer doesn't even understand why the Government's response to the Southport unrest gave rise to charges of unfairness. He argued that people were wrong to compare the policing of London Gaza marches, often awash with anti-Semitism but 'not producing violence', with the Southport unrest, since this saw attacks against police officers. No one would say violent rioters shouldn't be treated robustly. But what Hermer ignores is the way the state dealt fiercely with white, working-class Southport rioters in a way it never does with more favoured groups. Just weeks before, when rioters in ultra-diverse Harehills, Leeds, overturned a police car and set a bus on fire, the police reportedly ran away. Meanwhile, days into the Southport unrest, when armed Muslim mobs formed supposedly in order to protect their local communities, the police let them have free rein. In Birmingham on August 5, the result was a pub being attacked, with a man outside it suffering a lacerated liver, amid other disorder. Even more than this double-standard though, it is the punitive crackdown on online speech that has caused there were many who found themselves charged and remanded in custody for social media posts, the most high-profile is Lucy Connolly, imprisoned for 31 months for a single nasty tweet (which she later deleted) on the night of the Southport murders. As the Telegraph disclosed earlier this month, Lord Hermer personally approved the prosecution of Mrs Connolly for stirring up racial hatred, despite having the constitutional power not to. Hermer has also declined to seek to review lenient sentences for gang grooming offenders – but in his political judgement, it was in the public interest for Connolly to face up to seven years in prison over one nasty tweet. Former Attorney General Suella Braverman says she would not have consented to the charge. 'We don't have a two-tiered justice system', insists Hermer. We have an 'independent justice system'. But can anyone really look at the state response to Southport and claim it 'independent' from politics? Sir Keir Starmer politicised the justice system the moment he claimed all of those involved were 'far-Right thugs', who had come from out of town to cause chaos. In reality, subsequent analysis of the arrest data along with a recent report by the police inspectorate have poured cold water on those claims. Politicians were also swiftly claiming that online speech was a principal cause, with Hermer himself crowing that 'you cannot hide behind your keyboard'. This narrative was no less dubious – no one needed to be told by social media to be angry about the horrific murders of three children. Yet both became reasons for the police, the CPS and the courts to throw the book at people like Connolly over tweets. '[T]heir intention was always to hammer me', as Lucy told the Telegraph earlier this year. Lucy's two-tier treatment continues to this day. First, she was denied release on temporary license to care for her daughter and sick husband. This is a privilege which even murderers are sometimes granted, and which has been granted to others at Lucy's prison. Now she says she's being cruelly mistreated in prison. Does Hermer seriously think it's 'disgusting' to see this as unfair? Hermer can deny two-tier justice all he likes, but the more the public hears about cases like Connolly, the more the charge rings true. A recent YouGov poll found public confidence in the judicial system at an all-time low, with the proportion expressing 'no confidence at all' rising four per cent since last June. Berating people who feel these concerns will not make them go away.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warns of 'backroom stitch up' between parties in Wales
The prime minister has warned of a "backroom stitch up" between the Conservatives, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru ahead of next year's Senedd elections. Sir Keir Starmer addresses Welsh Labour's annual conference in Llandudno, North Wales, on Saturday. Voters will head to the polls next May to choose their representatives in Cardiff Bay and recent polls suggest Labour is in third place, behind Reform and Plaid. Labour has been the largest party at every Senedd election since devolution began in 1999. It is understood he will say such a deal would mark a "return to the chaos and division of the last decade". But opposition parties have hit back at the prime minister's "imaginary coalitions", with Plaid Cymru accusing Labour of "scraping the barrel". 2:59 Sir Keir told members how the two Labour governments in Westminster and Cardiff are "working together for the people of Wales". At next year's Senedd election, 96 members will be elected to the Welsh parliament for the first time - an increase of more than a third - under a more proportional voting system. He described First Minister Eluned Morgan as a "fierce champion" for Wales and "the best person" to lead the country into the future. It comes after Ms Morgan set out the "red Welsh way" in a landmark speech last month, seemingly deviating from the Westminster party, and calling for more "respect" for devolution and a "fair deal" for Wales. The prime minister's pitch to the people of Wales comes as the UK government announces legal protections for military personnel, their families and for veterans as the country marks Armed Forces Day. Further details are set to be outlined in due course, but the government says they could include more travel benefits or flexible working arrangements for partners of serving personnel. After a week in which the amid a mounting rebellion, the party is expected to make a number of announcements for Wales. Among those is a new £11m fund for businesses in Port Talbot and the surrounding area, which Labour says proves that it is the only party with "a real plan to grow Welsh industry".
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Jamaican government to take fight for slavery reparations to King
Officials for the Commonwealth realm have submitted three 'legal questions' for King Charles to take to the Privy Council – the formal body that advises the British monarch. Olivia Grange, Jamaica's minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport, said the filing was on behalf of the people of Jamaica. She said: 'We are taking our demand for reparations from the United Kingdom for the enslavement of our African ancestors into another phase. READ MORE: Irn-Bru owner in advanced talks with potential buyer for drinks brand facing closure 'We will be submitting a petition to His Majesty King Charles III to refer to the Privy Council a set of questions that we want answered within his current position as head of state for Jamaica.' In the submission, officials will ask whether the forced transport of African people from their homelands to their subsequent enslavement in Jamaica was lawful, along with whether the transportation and slavery of people of African descent can be considered 'crimes against humanity under international law for which the UK bears responsibility'. They will also ask 'whether the UK is under an obligation to provide a remedy to the Jamaican people for the unlawful transport and subsequent enslavement of African people in Jamaica under British rule'. During the announcement of the petition at the House of Representatives, Grange said that 'the matter is now with the attorney-general of Jamaica for filing on behalf of the people of Jamaica'. (Image: Temilade Adelaja/PA Wire) Grange added that Jamaican officials had given the matter careful thought and that they had taken 'much into consideration, including positions discussed with us by several legal minds.' Ministers said that the submission to the king was a 'legal approach', separate from the ongoing political discussions about reparations. The king has remained the head of state for the country which has been a Commonwealth realm since gaining independence from Britain in 1962. The Privy Council, which meets to discuss primarily on matters of government, meets once a month and Charles has the authority to refer the questions to the council for consideration. Jamaica's prime minister, Andrew Holness, has often expressed his hope that the country will become a republic, severing ties with the British monarchy. In 2022, during a visit from the Prince and Princess of Wales, then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Holness told them that his country was 'moving on' from the monarchy – leaving the royal family members standing awkwardly during the meeting. In 2009, Jamaica set up the National Committee of Reparations which has been at the forefront of the debate. During the last Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Samoa, countries said that the 'time had come' for a proper conversation on the subject. However, in the run-up to the summit, Keir Starmer ruled out the UK Government paying reparations for Britain's role in the slave trade
