A Nottinghamshire parliamentarian claims the assertion was made to deceive the electorate
Jo White, the Labour representative for Bassetlaw (Image: Oliver Pridmore/Nottingham Post)
Reform UK has acknowledged it may have presented an incomplete version of events after distributing a video segment that twisted a Nottinghamshire parliamentarian’s remarks concerning vessel crossings in the Channel
A sound excerpt originated from a gathering attended by the Labour MP for Bassetlaw, Jo White, who has recently been appointed a Home Office minister in Andy Burnham’s administration.
The recording was initially released by the Guido Fawkes news outlet in 2025 and following Jo White’s ministerial appointment, Robert Jenrick distributed it across social platforms claiming the Bassetlaw MP could be heard stating she did not care if they stopped the boats.
The Newark representative for Reform has subsequently removed his publication, though an equivalent entry by Nigel Farage continues to appear on his Facebook profile at publication time.
Jo White had in fact provided clarification at the time the 2025 recording was initially published that her exact statement during the gathering was that her focus was to make sure they stopped those boats, that she did not care who would stop them, and that stopping the boats was her number one priority.
Although this explanation had been publicly available at the time, Mr Jenrick and Mr Farage republished the assertions regarding the audio recording on Wednesday (July 22) subsequent to the Bassetlaw MP’s appointment.
Robert Jenrick, the Newark MP representing Reform UK (Image: Oliver Pridmore/Nottingham Post)
Lord John Mann, Jo White’s spouse and a former Labour MP for Bassetlaw, demanded Mr Jenrick issue an apology while Ms White herself stated that Reform UK had deliberately twisted her words to mislead the public and that they should withdraw their false claim and immediately apologise.
The Newark MP has not complied, with a Reform representative informing the Nottingham Post that they had always trusted Guido Fawkes as a source of information, but perhaps on this occasion they did not get the full picture. Jo White’s explanation appears within the relevant Guido Fawkes article.
The Reform representative further commented that they awaited Burnham’s first mention of the small boats, suggesting he clearly does not address the matter. Andy Burnham had indicated during his campaign to represent Makerfield that the matter of Channel vessel crossings demanded to be addressed decisively.
Upon her appointment to the Home Office, Jo White remarked that under the Conservatives, immigration had spiralled out of control and the country had lost confidence in the government to keep their borders secure.
She noted that this Labour government had taken steps over the last two years to deliver a fair immigration system that serves the national interest and restores control to the borders.
She added that they had seen a sharp fall in net migration, a fall in illegal boat crossings and over 70,000 people with no right to be in the country had been removed.