Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has been drawn into a cabinet dispute over migration policy after a post on her constituency website appeared to criticise the government's plans to extend the qualifying period for settlement.
The post, which has since been deleted, summarised remarks Fahnbulleh made at a community meeting in her Peckham constituency in September. According to the write-up, first reported by the Telegraph, Fahnbulleh said: "If we continually prolong the time people have to wait for settlement, we can also prolong the process of building cohesion."
Her office said the remarks had been paraphrased and did not accurately represent her views. The post would be rewritten to reflect what she actually told residents.
The government has proposed increasing the standard qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain from five years to 10, with concessions possible for some professions including care workers. The pathway to permanent settlement for refugees would be extended to up to 20 years, with reviews every 30 months. The final response to a consultation on the proposals has not yet been published, but Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he is committed to the bulk of the changes.
Tensions over the policy have already surfaced. Last month, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said the proposed changes, if left unamended, would unfairly penalise care staff who had "moved their lives here to look after our loved ones".
Fahnbulleh, who came to the UK as a child after fleeing the civil war in Liberia, told the Guardian's Politics Weekly podcast last month that her family would have found the changes "tough". She said she wanted the government to recognise migrants' contributions, adding: "I think we ultimately need to get to an immigration system that has control … but actually then recognises the contribution that people have made."
In her address to Peckham constituents, Fahnbulleh said the debate had become "increasingly depressing and toxic" and called for "a more compassionate immigration system". She said: "The asylum process is broken and needs reform. Ultimately, I want to see a system based on control and compassion, with a much stronger focus on integration."