The safest place for a minister in a crisis is meant to be the despatch box. The thinking is that it allows an under-fire minister to influence and even control events. This is what Suella Braverman tried to do this evening when she faced MPs in the Commons chamber following a series of allegations over both her handling of security matters and the detention of migrants under her watch.

After apologising this morning for using her personal email address to handle official documents on seven occasions, Braverman appeared in the Commons to address the other crisis facing her: the situation at the Manston migrant centre in Kent. While the disused airport is designed to hold up to 1,600 people, the current number being processed there is thought to be closer to 4,000. There have been reports of migrants being kept there for weeks and outbreaks of disease.

Facing allegations that she failed to sign off on measures which could have eased pressure at the overrun processing centre, Braverman said she ‘never ignored legal advice’ on keeping asylum seekers at the centre. Braverman insisted that she had ‘worked hard to find accommodation to relieve pressure’ at Manston, arguing that as a former attorney-general, she knows the importance of legal advice. Labour MPs are already picking over Braverman’s words – pointing out that there could be a difference between not blocking the use of hotels and preventing the procurement of additional accommodation.

When it comes to the response Braverman received in the Commons, the majority of Tory interventions were supportive. In a sign that Braverman believes drastic reform is required despite 12 years of Tory government, she declared: ‘The system is broken. Illegal immigration is out of control’. Her claim that the Tories were the party ‘serious about stopping the invasion on our southern coast’ have quickly been derided as inflammatory and divisive. Speaking this evening, London mayor Sadiq Khan accused Braverman of promoting an anti-immigrant narrative. But they landed well with MPs on the right of the party. They lined up to praise Braverman for adopting a tough stance on immigration and to accuse Labour of prioritising migrants over British citizens. Red Wall MP Lee Anderson said migrants can ‘get on a rubber dinghy and go straight back to France’ if the UK accommodation is not good enough while Sir Edward Leigh suggested that those who don’t want to go to Manston can ‘stay in France’.

So far, Rishi Sunak is standing by Braverman. However, the prospect of further disclosures means some ministers are asking privately whether the current situation is tenable. The reception Braverman received in the chamber is a reminder of the difficulty Sunak would face were he to lose her from the Home Office. She was picked for the role largely to keep the right of the party on side. Were she to go, Sunak would face a backlash from a wing of the party he badly needs to keep favour with.

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