Suella Braverman has denied that her migrant crackdown breaks international law - despite admitting to MPs that it could.
The home secretary made her comments as she clashed with Kay Burley the day after publishing a bill aimed at stopping asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in small boats.
In a letter sent to MPs and peers, seen by HuffPost UK, Braverman, who is a lawyer, admitted there was more than a 50 per cent chance that the Illegal Migrants Bill could breach the European Convention on Human Rights.
On Sky News this morning, Burley asked Braverman: “As a barrister, are you completely comfortable with breaking the law?”
The home secretary replied: “Well, we’re not breaking the law. We are very confident that our measures that we announced yesterday are in compliance with our international law obligations.”
The presenter hit back: “Let me tell you what Amnesty International say. They say ‘the rights of refugees and asylum seekers are protected by international law, regardless of how and why they arrive in a country. They have the same rights as everyone else, plus special or specific protections’.
“As a barrister, you’re condoning breaking the law, according to Amnesty International.”
The home secretary said: “We’re not breaking the law, and no government representative has said that we’re breaking the law. In fact, we’ve made it very clear that we believe we’re in compliance with all of our international obligations.”
Braverman said that those making the perilous Channel crossing were breaking the law and abusing the hospitality of the British people.
But Burley responded: “According to all of the research that we have done, people who get on a small boat to ride to the UK are not breaking the law.”
Elsewhere this morning, Braverman also condemned Gary Lineker after he appeared to compare the government’s migrant crackdown to Nazi Germany.
The home secretary said she was “disappointed” by the Match of the Day host’s comments.