UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has distanced himself from Suella Braverman's claim the country was facing an "invasion" by migrants, as counter-terror police took control of an investigation into the firebombing of an immigration processing centre.
The prime minister told his cabinet that the UK will always be a "compassionate, welcoming country" after the Home Secretary faced a backlash over her comments.
Mr Sunak's official spokesman suggested Ms Braverman was seeking to "express the sheer scale of the challenge" at hand.
Ms Braverman's Home Office colleague, Immigration Minter Robert Jenrick, warned against demonising people seeking to come to the UK and stressed the importance of choosing words carefully.
It is understood that Ms Braverman's comment to MPs - that "the British people deserve to know which party is serious about stopping the invasion on our southern coast, and which party is not" - had not been cleared with 10 Downing Street.
Today, Kent Police said counter-terrorism experts were leading the investigation into the petrol bomb attack in Dover, which detectives believe was sparked by "some form of hate-filled grievance".
Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright, head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE), said: "What appears clear is that this despicable offence was targeted and likely to be driven by some form of hate-filled grievance, though this may not necessarily meet the threshold of terrorism."
Downing Street said the prime minister told his cabinet at a meeting today that the UK would always be a welcoming country, while Ms Braverman said a "whole Government approach" would be needed to tackle the migrant crisis.
In a combative House of Commons performance yesterday, Ms Braverman denied ignoring legal advice to procure more accommodation amid warnings that a temporary holding centre at Manston in Kent had become dangerously overcrowded.
With the Government spending £6.8 million a day putting up migrants in hotels - at an average cost of £150 per person per night - she insisted she was right to order a review of the way the system was working.
Questioned about her "invasion" comments, immigration minister Robert Jenrick told the BBC: "It is not a phrase that I have used, but I do understand the need to be straightforward with the general public about the challenge that we as ministers face."
Almost 40,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year.
"Invasion is a way of describing the sheer scale of the challenge," Mr Jenrick said.
"That's what Suella Braverman was trying to express. She was also speaking, I think - and this is an important point - for those people who live on the south coast, who, day in, day out, are seeing migrant boats landing on their beaches."
The Home Secretary has denied claims that she ignored legal advice and rejected calls by officials to procure more hotel accommodation for migrants amid mounting concern about the situation at Manston.
