Darren Jones has recently been given a promotion in a reshuffle at No10. However, some colleagues may feel uneasy about the newly appointed Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister appearing on television.
Mr Jones, the MP for Bristol North West, has twice recently sparked rows with his comments on flagship BBC politics shows.
Most Channel migrants ‘children, babies and women’
Back in June, while serving as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Mr. Jones stirred controversy by claiming that most individuals he saw crossing the Channel in small boats were ‘children, babies and women’.
It came as he clashed with Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf on BBC Question Time over the migrant crisis.
He stated: ‘When you’re present at the site, witnessing these dinghies assembled by organized criminal gangs, you realize just how unsafe they are.
‘And when you see that the majority of the people in these boats are children, babies and women… you have got to take note.’
As he interrupted Mr Jones, Mr Yusuf claimed more than 90 per cent of those who cross the Channel in small boats are adult men.
Asked if he disputed the 90 per cent figure, Mr Jones said: ‘I’m just saying it’s not true.’
He continued, ‘Seeing babies and children placed in such dangerous situations by human traffickers, arriving with skin burns from the oil in these boats mixing with the sea salt, how could anyone look at those children and tell them to return home?’
The Home Office has provided data showing that in the first quarter of 2025, out of 6,420 recorded small boat arrivals, 81 percent (5,183 individuals) were adult men.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch called on Mr Jones to apologise, while Reform UK’s Nigel Farage branded him ‘another clueless Labour minister’.
Mr. Jones later addressed his comments on social media, stating: ‘It’s true that the vast majority of those arriving illegally on small boats are men, but not as high as ‘north of 90 percent’ as claimed by Reform.’
‘On Question Time, I shared a story from my visit to the Border Security Command about a dinghy that arrived mostly carrying women, children and babies who had suffered horrific burns.
‘I’m happy to clarify this given how this is now being misrepresented.’
Welfare squeeze ‘like cutting my kid’s pocket money by £10 per week’
Mr Jones had previously been at the centre of a row when he compared Labour’s welfare squeeze to cutting his children’s pocket money by £10 per week.
As he attempted to defend Government’s benefits cuts, Mr Jones pointed to how an impact assessment of the measures did not consider other action being taken by ministers.
‘My understanding is what the impact assessment doesn’t account for is the benefit that you get from our additional money into support for training, skills or work,’ he told BBC Politics Live.
‘Take, for example, if I said to my kids: ‘I’m going to cut your pocket money by £10 per week, but you have to go and get a Saturday job’.
‘The impact assessment on that basis would say that my kids were down £10, irrespective of how much money they get from their Saturday job.’
Mr Jones’ comments were swiftly branded ‘offensive’ and ‘patronising’ by critics.
He later apologised, telling ITV’s Peston programme: ‘I’m sorry about it. It was tactless and it wasn’t well considered. I apologise if I’ve offended people.’
