Home Secretary challenged by Holocaust survivor over ‘invasion’ of migrants claims
Suella Braverman told Joan Salter MBE she 'won't apologise' for using terms the survivor said were used 'frequently to dehumanise and justify the murder of my family and millions of others'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Suella Braverman has refused to apologise for referring to “invasions” of migrants coming into this country after being challenged by a Holocaust survivor about her use of language.
The Home Secretary was filmed being confronted by Joan Salter, 83, during a meeting in her Fareham constituency in Hampshire on Friday evening.
Footage of the exchange was placed online by the charity Freedom From Torture and showed Salter saying: “I am a child survivor of the Holocaust.
“In 1943, I was forced to flee my birthplace in Belgium and went across war-torn Europe and dangerous seas until I finally was able to come to the UK in 1947.
“When I hear you using words against refugees like ‘swarms’ and an ‘invasion’, I am reminded of the language used to dehumanise and justify the murder of my family and millions of others.
“Why do you find the need to use that kind of language?”
Braverman thanked Salter for her question but was then shown responding to Salter, who has been recognised with an MBE for her work on Holocaust education, by saying:”“I won’t apologise for the language that I have used to demonstrate the scale of the problem. I see my job as being honest with the British people and honest for the British people.
“I’m not going to shy away from difficult truths nor am I going to conceal what is the reality that we are all watching.”
Home Office officials later pointed out that Braverman has never used the word “swarms” when discussing migrants.
Born Fanny Zimetbaum in Brussels on 15 February 1940 to Polish Jewish parents, Salter was three months old when Belgium was invaded by the Nazis.
She is a renowned speaker on the impact of the Nazi invasion on both her own life, and that of her family, often appearing at Holocaust Memorial Day Trust events.
It is understood that an aide to Braverman raised concerns about the edited version of the exchange placed online by the charity, saying the recording failed to show the Home Secretary’s understanding of the survivor’s background.
The Home Office is seeking the removal of our video of Joan's exchange with Suella Braverman.
But we are standing our ground.
The full video is here: https://t.co/m97j7TFBn1
— Freedom from Torture???? (@FreefromTorture) January 14, 2023
In an extended recording then placed online by the charity Braverman said that she “shared a huge amount of concern and sympathy” over the “challenge” of illegal immigration, adding that her own parents were not born in Britain.
Speaking about her own parents, and their journey escaping life in Kenya, Braverman said: “They owe everything to this country and they have taught me a deep and profound love of Britain and British people. Their tolerance, their generosity, their decency, their fair play.
“That also means that we must not shy away from saying there is a problem. There is a huge problem that we have right now when it comes to illegal migration, the scale of which we have not known before.
“I won’t apologise for the language that I have used to demonstrate the scale of the problem. I see my job as being honest with the British people and honest for the British people.
“I’m not going to shy away from difficult truths nor am I going to conceal what is the reality that we are all watching.”
Braverman added that she was “incredibly proud” of the UK’s recent immigration record but added that “we have a problem with people exploiting our generosity, breaking our laws and undermining our system”.
“We must accept the enormity of the problem if we’ve got any chance of solving it,” she said.
Braverman’s response was greeted with applause from the audience.
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