“There’s nothing he won’t do to get attention.”
Remember back in 2023, when the then immigration minister Robert Jenrick ordered staff at an asylum reception centre to paint over pictures of cartoons and animals, to make sure children didn’t feel welcome?
The colourful murals featured images of many cartoon characters, including Mickey Mouse and Baloo from the Jungle Book.
Staff at the centre for small boat arrivals were said to be horrified by the order, while the opposition and immigration charities condemned the move as ‘inhumane.’
This week, that decision came back to haunt him. The shadow justice secretary has been mocked for criticising ‘mean-spirited’ people who removed Union Jack flags he helped put up in a busy road in Nottinghamshire.
Jenrick, the Newark MP and rumoured Tory leadership hopeful, said he and volunteers had bought the flags from Amazon and personally put them up around town as part of Operation Raise the Colours.
However, the flags were taken down just two weeks later. “Some mean-spirited people took them down in the middle of the night about two weeks later, which was disappointing,” he told reporters.
When asked if he had permission to display the flags, he replied to Nottinghamshire Live: “I didn’t ask for permission, I ask for forgiveness.”
In a social media video posted in August, Jenrick had criticised “self-loathing councils” for removing national flags, saying:
“They’re often the same councils that happily leave up Palestinian flags.”
The Newark MP has also supported the Reform UK-led Nottinghamshire County Council’s decision to spend £75,000 on displaying 150 Union flags across the county, but argued it could be done more cheaply:
“We bought some flags on Amazon and some ties, borrowed a ladder and stuck them up for 100 quid, so I think you can do it cheaper than that,” he said.
Social media users were quick to point out the hypocrisy. Many recalled Jenrick’s previous order to erase asylum centre murals, branding his comments hypocritical.
“‘Mean-spirited’? That’s a polite way to describe him,” one Facebook user wrote.
Another added: “Anything for a photo opportunity, a truly sad act.”
It hasn’t been the best of weeks for Jenrick. During an appearance on Good Morning Britain, the shadow justice secretary was reprimanded by Kate Garraway after swearing live on air during a row over deputy PM David Lammy’s handling of prisoner releases at HMP Wandsworth.
Frustrated by Lammy’s refusal to answer questions, Jenrick lashed out, calling the situation “total b******t.”
Following the incident, the Independent’s associate editor Sean O’Grady said that Jenrick’s latest outburst shows “there’s nothing he won’t do to get attention.”
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