Amber Rudd had 'ambition' to increase deportations by 10% but it was not a target, Tory minister Brandon Lewis claims

Conservative chairman says home secretary was 'right' to say she was unaware of targets - despite admitting she knew of 'overall ambition'

A Tory minister has admitted Amber Rudd was aware of plans to increase the number of illegal immigrants being deported, but denied she knew about specific targets to achieve this.

Brandon Lewis, the Conservative Party chairman, said he had regularly updated the home secretary on the issue when he was the immigration minister in her department – but insisted a plan to increase deportations by 10 per cent was an “ambition” rather than a target.

He said he had discussed this “overall ambition” with Ms Rudd during his time at the Home Office but defended her claim that she had not been aware of any specific targets

Mr Lewis was the recipient of a contentious memo on deportation targets that was also sent to Ms Rudd, raising doubts over her claims to have been unaware of the policy.

The home secretary is facing mounting calls to resign after appearing to give Parliament incorrect information on two different occasions. She first told the Home Affairs Committee that the Home Office did not use deportation targets, but this was later proved incorrect.

The home secretary then said she had been unaware of the policy but this, too, was brought into doubt when the leaked memo revealed she had been informed of the plan to increase the number of people deported by 10 per cent.

Mr Lewis insisted there was a difference between specific “local” targets used by Immigration Enforcement teams and the “overall ambition” to increase deportations. He said Ms Rudd was aware of the latter, but not the former.

Asked on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show whether he had ever been in a meeting with Ms Rudd where specific targets were discussed, he said: “I’ve been in a room with Amber Rudd talking about increasing the number of returns, but Amber Rudd and I never discussed particular numbers in the way that was outlined at the Home Affairs Committee.”

Asked why Ms Rudd had said she was unaware of the use of targets in relation to deportations, despite having been informed of the 10 per cent figure, Mr Lewis said: “She was right in what she said. She was being asked about the localised, regional, internal [targets] – effectively the KPIs [key performance indicators] the Immigration Enforcement agency was using, and yes she was not aware of that.

“She’s clear about that. I’ve worked with Amber and I know how focused she is on getting things right.”

Mr Lewis said that, as immigration minister, he had chaired weekly update meetings on the progress being made in deporting illegal migrants. He admitted having discussed these with Ms Rudd but said they had not talked about specific targets.

“Yes I did talk to the home secretary about that and the overall work we were doing and the overall ambition to see a increase in numbers, but not on the detail of targets.

“Those internal targets were not in the memo and not figures that she was aware of.”

Ms Rudd is due to give a another statement to MPs on Monday in which she is expected to offer a further apology for her handling of the issue. She is likely to face questions about the leaked memo.

But Mr Lewis said: “What the report and that briefing memo to me was outlining was the figures from the previous year and the team outlining to me that, in the context of wanting to see that 10 per cent increase in removal of illegal migrants and foreign national offenders ... to look at having that ambition to see another 10 per cent increase in the years ahead.”