Use words carefully warns Jenrick after Braverman criticised by Holocaust survivor

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has said politicians must choose their words "carefully" after a Holocaust survivor criticised the home secretary's language on immigration.

On Friday, Joan Salter, 83, told Suella Braverman her words reminded her of language used to "justify the murder of my family and millions of others".

Mr Jenrick told ITV it was right to listen to Ms Salter's experiences.

However, he also said Ms Braverman had made an "important" point.

"There is a significant difference between those people who come to the UK through genuine persecution and human rights abuses around the world - which there are many - and those people who come gaming the system for economic reasons," he said.

"We have to be able to make that distinction in a sensible way or else we will find tens, nearly hundreds, of thousands of people crossing our borders every year."

Footage of the exchange between Ms Salter and Ms Braverman at a constituency event in Fareham emerged over the weekend.

In the clip, provided by the charity Freedom From Torture, Ms Salter told the home secretary: "I am a child survivor of the Holocaust.

"In 1943, I was forced to flee my birthplace in Belgium and went across war-torn Europe and dangerous seas until I finally was able to come to the UK in 1947.

"When I hear you using words against refugees like 'swarms' and an 'invasion', I am reminded of the language used to dehumanise and justify the murder of my family and millions of others.

"Why do you find the need to use that kind of language?"

Ms Braverman has never used the word "swarm" to describe illegal immigration on record but has previously claimed southern England was facing an "invasion" of illegal migrants.

She thanked Ms Salter for her question and said she "shared a huge amount of concern and sympathy and frustration" about the "challenge" of immigration.

She added that her parents were immigrants, and her father had found refuge in the UK after being "kicked out" of Kenya.

However, she argued that, as home secretary, she had to be "honest" with the British people and would not "shy away from difficult truths".

She said: "I won't apologise for my language I use to demonstrate the scale of the problem."

Asked about the home secretary's comments, Mr Jenrick, whose mother also survived the Holocaust, said: "I think in politics we all have to choose our language carefully and think of the historical language that has been used in the past when we frame arguments."