Energy secretary appears to U-turn on opposition to tougher migration rules

Miatta Fahnbulleh says reference to ‘awkward’ interview was meant to be lighthearted and self-deprecating

The energy secretary has been forced to clarify that she backs Shabana Mahmood’s migration policy, after earlier joking that she had not been able to “lie” about supporting a key element of the changes.

Miatta Fahnbulleh made the original remarks to a journalists’ event in Westminster, referring to an “awkward” Sky News interview in which she repeatedly refused to say she was in favour of plans to make foreign workers wait 15 years to get permanent residency.

She told the event: “I made three promises to myself when I came into politics. The first was never lie, which has created some awkward moments, including being interviewed by Sophy Ridge yesterday.”

The implication that she could not bring herself to lie about supporting the changes appears to have gone down badly among colleagues in government, although No 10 refused to be drawn on whether they requested her to issue a clarification.

Fahnbulleh posted a statement on social media on Thursday evening saying: “Today I made what was meant to be a lighthearted, self-deprecating remark. I didn’t get it right and it hasn’t come off as I intended.

“I fully support our home secretary and the government’s position on migration reform. 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.”

The clarification represents a twist in the cabinet split over the issue of the migration changes, with Fahnbulleh and Angela Rayner among those not keen on elements of the original plan.

Mahmood, the home secretary, is consulting on plans to increase the period before foreign workers can claim indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five to 15 years, backdated to apply to anyone arriving from 2021 onwards.

She has previously hinted that her plan to make it harder to claim permanent residence could be watered down by exempting care workers from the new rule.

However, there were reports on Tuesday that she was holding firm against making changes. A senior ally told the Times that she had the prime minister’s support, saying: “Andy has been on Shabana’s side throughout this row over ILR. He is holding the line.”

This week it was reported that Fahnbulleh appeared to criticise the plans on her Peckham constituency website in a post about a community discussion that was later removed. She was quoted as saying: “If we continually prolong the time people have to wait for settlement, we can also prolong the process of building cohesion.”

And earlier this year, Rayner, the housing secretary, publicly criticised the plans, while dozens of Labour MPs oppose the changes.

One of the leading opponents, Mike Tapp, a former immigration minister who clashed with Mahmood over the policy, said the home secretary should “read the room” in relation to the strength of feeling about the changes.