Energy Secretary Reverses Stance on Immigration Plan After Initial Opposition

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has publicly endorsed the government's immigration reforms, a shift from her stance earlier in the week when she repeatedly declined to support Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's proposals.

Fahnbulleh apologized on Thursday for a remark made earlier in the week where she stated she would "never lie," a reference to an interview in which she refused 16 times to back Mahmood's plans. The Home Secretary's proposals aim to extend the waiting period for foreign nationals seeking Indefinite Leave to Remain, increasing it from five years to potentially 15 years. These proposals have faced internal dissent from some Labour Members of Parliament.

Earlier, Fahnbulleh had been a prominent critic of the policy, expressing concerns on her constituency website that it could hinder "the process of building cohesion."

In her statement on Thursday, Fahnbulleh affirmed her support for the migration reforms. "I fully support our Home Secretary and the Government's position on migration reform," she tweeted. "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."

This development follows an instance on Wednesday where Fahnbulleh evaded direct questions about her support for a significant aspect of Labour's immigration crackdown. She repeatedly dodged inquiries regarding Mahmood's proposals to prolong the residency requirement for permanent status in Britain.

Speculation had suggested that Mahmood's proposal to extend the five-year waiting period by up to 10 years for foreign care workers might be modified to mitigate a potential Labour rebellion, following criticism from senior MPs.

Both Fahnbulleh and Angela Rayner had previously voiced criticism of the plan when they were on the backbenches. Fahnbulleh, in a now-deleted online post, had attacked any efforts to "prolong the time people have to wait for settlement."

When questioned on Sky News about her current stance on the policy, Fahnbulleh reiterated her support for broader immigration system reform. However, she did not explicitly endorse the specific policy, eventually telling presenter Sophy Ridge, "Don't put words in my mouth."

During the Sky News interview, Fahnbulleh stated, "We have got to reform our immigration system. My view is that we need a system that is based on the principle of compassion [and] contribution. So there is a package of reforms, the Home Secretary has been consulting on this, she is looking at the range of responses and she will come out with the measures that we take forward. The key thing I would say is that no one can look at our immigration system, and I say this as someone that came to this country as a refugee, and not believe it is broken and not believe that we need to fundamentally reform it."

She further added, "I support reforms that say that people have to contribute and make a contribution to this country in order to get citizenship. I 100 per cent back Shabana Mahmood and everything she is trying to do."

Earlier in the week, Rayner attempted to downplay reports of a division within the Cabinet regarding Mahmood's immigration plans, expressing confidence that her colleague would implement a fair policy for both taxpayers and migrants after the consultation period.

Downing Street has not ruled out potential changes to the proposal and defended Fahnbulleh's earlier hesitation to commit to it on television. Officials emphasized that Mahmood is thoroughly reviewing over 200,000 responses to the consultation before finalizing the reforms.

When asked if adjustments to the Home Secretary's initial reform package, such as retrospective application, could be excluded, a spokesperson for Downing Street stated, "We set out proposals for consultation. We've consulted on what the transition arrangement should look like (for) people already in the UK who have not received settled status. The Home Secretary is leading a thorough piece of work to ensure we get this right and have the right arrangements in place."

The spokesperson added, "The Energy Secretary made clear she backs reforms and the work that Shabana is doing as Home Secretary. She was asked about specific elements of the proposals that are subject to the results of the consultation. You would not expect ministers to comment on elements subject to the results of the consultation."