Shabana Mahmood, the new shadow justice secretary, has urged the Labour Party to not shy away from addressing concerns over high immigration. In her first interview in her new role, Mahmood criticized Home Secretary Suella Braverman for her comments about a migration "hurricane" hitting Britain. Mahmood emphasized the importance of engaging with the immigration debate and not surrendering on legitimate public concerns. While she acknowledged that Labour is now comfortable discussing the issue, she did not suggest that immigration numbers should be reduced.

"Deliberately inflammatory and divisive"

Mahmood strongly criticized Braverman's comments, describing them as "deliberately inflammatory" and "divisive." She accused the Home Secretary of using unrealistic numbers to scare people and questioned whether her remarks were driven by racism or dog whistle politics. Mahmood called for a more responsible and measured approach to the immigration debate.

Labour seeks to reclaim law and order agenda

Mahmood also emphasized Labour's commitment to law and order, claiming the party as the true champion of these issues. She expressed concerns about the state of the criminal justice system, stating that it has been brought to its knees. Mahmood highlighted the loss of public confidence in the police following high-profile cases such as the murder of Sarah Everard. She aims to bolster Labour's stance on law and order and regain the public's trust in this area.

Clarification on signing controversial letter

Mahmood addressed her previous signing of a letter expressing grave concern over the deportation of foreign criminals to Jamaica. She clarified that the letter aimed to ensure that the government completes its Windrush Lessons Learned review and properly identifies foreign offenders for deportation. Mahmood emphasized the need to deport actual foreign offenders and not individuals who consider themselves citizens of the UK. She cited a specific case involving a constituent, a former soldier who had served in Afghanistan, to explain her action at the time.