00:00When it comes to the asylum hotels, I want them emptied, I've been really clear about that, I completely understand why people are so concerned about it.
00:09The only way to empty them is an orderly, systematic working through of the cases as quickly as possible, and then returning those people who should not be here.
00:19Well, look, I understand why people want the hotels closed, I want them closed, and I will work across the board to close them as quickly as possible, that is my aspiration.
00:29Every one of those hotels closed down as quickly as possible.
00:33Well, the way to do that is to work through the backlog.
00:36Can you put a date on it?
00:37Well, we've said we'll get rid of them all by the end of the Parliament.
00:40That's a long way, that's four years away.
00:41I'd like to bring that forward, I think it's a good challenge, I want to bring that forward, and part of the change in the phasing of government is to say,
00:51what we need to do needs to go further and faster and be brought forward.
00:55But do I understand why people are concerned about asylum hotels?
00:58Absolutely, I do.
01:00I'm a supporter of flags.
01:02And you are sitting with one, you've got a union jack behind you.
01:04I've got one behind me.
01:05Are you a supporter of people painting roundabouts and hanging them from lampposts?
01:08Look, I'm the leader of the Labour Party who puts the union jack on our Labour Party membership cards.
01:14I always sit in front of a union jack.
01:17I've been doing it for years, and it attracted a lot of comment when I started doing it.
01:22But in our flat, which is upstairs from here, as you know, we've got the St George's flag in our flat.
01:30So you're encouraging people to put up more flags?
01:31I'm very encouraging of flags.
01:34I think they're patriotic, and I think they're a great symbol of our nation.
01:40I don't think they should be devalued and belittled.
01:43And I think sometimes when they're used purely for divisive purposes, it actually devalues the flag.
01:49I don't want to see that.
01:50I'm proud of our flag.
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