That's it from us on the live team today.

If you want to read more on today's politics stories, and the migrant issues, we can point you to our politics page, and any breaking news can be found on our home page.

Have a good evening, and goodnight.

Today's writers were Marita Moloney, Andre Rhoden-Paul, Adam Durbin, Lauren Turner, Jasmine Andersson, Hamish Mureddu-Reid, Bob Dale, Paul Seddon and Sam Francis.

We’ll be closing this live page soon, so here’s a summary of some of the main points we’ve covered today:

• Home Secretary Suella Braverman has been facing pressure regarding overcrowding at Manston, a migrant processing centre in Kent, amid accusations she had turned down plans that would have prevented congestion at the centre. In a speech to MPs in parliament, Braverman denied she had ignored legal advice about using hotels to house migrants and had never blocked their use. She challenged critics to try and oust her.
• She promised to tackle what she called the “scourge” of illegal immigration, and has faced criticism from some quarters for describing an “invasion” along the UK’s southern coast.

• Braverman also faced continued scrutiny about a possible security breach after she used her private email address for official government documents – she admitted today to sendinggovernment documents to her personal email address six times during her first stint as home secretary, under Liz Truss. In her Commons speech, Braverman said she had made an error of judgement.
• We also learned today a bit more about who police suspect threw incendiary devices at a migrant site in Dover yesterday, although we don’t yet have a motive. Police said a 66-year old-man – who took his own life after the attack - from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was responsible. Police told the BBC they have a warrant to search a property in High Wycombe, 120 miles from the facility.

All day we've been reporting on the situation inside the Manston immigration centre, and the government's handling of it, but what's life like for those living nearby?

One resident in the village of Aycliffe, near Dover, says she was recently confronted by a young Albanian migrant in her home.

Sue Doyle says the teenager had landed in a small boat on a nearby beach, and came to her asking for transport to London or Manchester. She says he tried to use his sim card in her phone.

She said she was scared, and got help from a neighbour. The police was called and the boy was taken into custody.

Doyle said: "It’s absolutely terrifying because you don’t know if they are carrying anything, if they are carrying weapons or anything, you just don’t know.

"I do understand, yes, that there are some genuine cases - but there is a right way and a wrong way of doing this, and [the government] are not doing it the right way."

Both the tone and content of Suella Braverman's speech has split opinion on Twitter.

Many have criticised her describing small boats crossing the Channel as an "invasion of our southern coast".

Prof Tanja Bueltmann, an academic at the University of Strathclyde specialising in migration, called it "dangerous and unhinged"

While refugee charity Care4Calais called the comments "indefensible".

During her speech, Ms Braverman described the asylum system as "broken".

Given the current crisis, Conservative activist Chris Rose said this should not be a controversial point.

However Labour MP for Birmingham Birmingham Yardley, Jess Philips, took to twitter to point out Ms Braverman's party had been in charge of the "broken" system for the last 12 years.

During her appearance in the Commons, Suella Braverman was also asked about a possible security breach after she used her private email address for official government documents.

“I’ve been clear, I made an error of judgment," she said as she defended her re-appointment to the role of home secretary, days after she was forced to quit.

Ms Braverman has admitted to sending government documents to her personal email address six times during her first stint as home secretary, under Liz Truss.

When Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper raised concerns over the home secretary's "disregard for security", Ms Braverman replied: “I’ve been clear, I made an error of judgment. I apologised for that error. I took responsibility for it and I resigned.”

Ms Cooper criticising the home secretary's re-appointment asked "how is anybody supposed to have confidence" in her following more stories about possible breaches.

Speaking in the Commons during a statement on asylum processing centres, Ms Braverman declined to apologise for "things that I haven't done" referring to claims she sent documents about cyber security and intelligence agencies.

If you're just joining our live page and want to know what Home Secretary Suella Braverman said in her statement to the House of Commons, here's a recap:

• She started by saying the attack on an immigration centre in Dover yesterday, when incendiary devices were thrown, was not being treated as a terrorist incident

• She defended the government's record on migrants, saying there is a global migration crisis, with nearly 40,000 making the journey to the UK this year alone
• The government has a duty to make sure anyone entering the country illegally goes through "essential security checks", she said
• She accused her opponents of trying to get rid of her because she is serious about dealing with the "scourge" of illegal immigration
• She said she has never ignored legal advice about using hotels to house migrants and never blocked their use
• The home secretary said she is determined to address the backlog in asylum claims as well as the number of migrants living in hotels - saying it is "wholly unacceptable" that taxpayers have been left with a bill of millions of pounds a day
• And she doubled down on her commitment to processing migrants in Rwanda, adding that "people coming here illegally from safe countries are not welcome and should not expect to stay"

Scale of Braverman's political challenge is becoming clearpublished at 18:22 Greenwich Mean Time 31 October 2022

18:22 GMT 31 October 2022

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Opposition MPs believe the home secretary chose her words carefully when she said she did not block the use of hotels for those processed at Manston.

They wanted to hear from her whether she prevented the procurement of additional hotel accommodation.

And it's not clear that her appearance in the Commons will prevent further questions being raised about her decision-making.

But she has said she is looking at a range of options – the use of other government sites, and the dispersal of migrants across the country as well as hotels. And she said 30 hotels had been agreed on her watch.

She will hope her strong denunciation of illegal immigration will rally her own side.

But she has also faced questions as to whether she is being tough enough on the growing number of asylum claims from Albania - and on the slowness of the system.

Suella Braverman clearly wanted to return to the Home Office but the scale of the political challenge she faces is becoming even clearer.

During her statement, Braverman said she needed to be straight with people on migration. Here's what she said:

The Conservative MP for Dover, Nathalie Elphicke, urges the home secretary to move the migrant processing centre to a "more appropriate secure location".

"Constituents working at the Dover facility have raised concerns about the current safety at the site," she says.

"Does my right honourable friend agree with me that this type of facility has no place in a busy open port like Dover and can she look at moving it to a more appropriate secure location immediately?"

She goes on to ask for a new approach to stop boats leaving France.

Suella Braverman replies: "This is incredibly difficult, I don't want to sugar-coat the problem. There are incredibly multifaceted challenges that we have to deal with.

"And when it comes to Manston, like her, I'm very concerned about the conditions and I have been so for several weeks."

She says that is why she has taken "urgent action" to "increase the emergency accommodation on the site on a temporary and emergency basis".

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Suella Braverman did not apologise for her dislike of putting migrants in to hotels at what she regards as a high cost, but she insisted that this view did not lead her to blocking their use - and she attempted to drain the toxicity from the opposition attack by saying she never ignored legal advice.

Braverman also didn't mention her resignation or reappointment in her initial statement, although in response to Labour’s Yvette Cooper she clearly decided the best form of defence is attack.

She accused the shadow home secretary of indulging in "political parlour games" and focussing on "fantasy not facts" and sought to draw a line under her previous departure from office, referring to the unsolicited letter she sent to the cross party home affairs committee.

Braverman also tried to draw dividing lines between government and opposition on immigration.

But when she said that some people wanted to get rid of her, few at Westminster would assume she was referring only to opposition MPs.

Few cabinet ministers have appeared on the government benches beside her – though she was flanked by her ally Steve Baker and by the immigration minister Robert Jenrick.

Sir Roger Gale continues: "Will the home secretary give assurance that accommodation will be provided to enable the Manston facility to return to its previous work?"

He also asks for assurance that this will be a temporary facility handling only 1,500 people per day and "not permanent residence" - and that "under no circumstance will Manston be turned into a permanent refugee camp."

Braverman replies: "On no occasion have I blocked the procurement of hotels or alternative accommodation to ease the pressure on Manston, I'm afraid that simply isn't true."

Conservative MP Roger Gale, who represents Thanet where the Manston centre is based, addresses the Commons.

He expresses his condolences to the families of those affected by the incident in Dover, and "particularly the family of the man who was responsible, who had very severe mental health difficulties".

And speaking of Manston, he says the facility "operated absolutely magnificently and very efficiently" until five weeks ago, at which point the home secretary "took the policy decision not to commission further accommodation".

Image source, House of Commons / PA Media

Braverman responds to questioning by Cooper by saying she has made clear that on no occasion did she block hotels or "veto advice to procure extra and emergency accommodation".

"Actually, the data and the facts are there on my watch since 6 September, over 30 new hotels were agreed which would provide over 4,500 additional hotel bed spaces, which will be brought into to use since the start of October," she says.

"Over 13 new hotels will provide over 1,800 additional hotel bed spaces. So and also since 6 September, 9,000 migrants have left Manston, many of them heading towards hotel accommodation."

"Those are the facts - I encourage rather than blame to stick to the facts and not fantasy."

Cooper says the home secretary was "advised repeatedly" that she was acting outside of the law by "failing to provide alternative accommodation for migrants.

She asks: “Can she confirm that she turned down contingency plans she was offered that would have reduced overcrowding?

“Can she confirm she was advised repeatedly that she was breaking the law by failing to abide by these plans?”

Cooper asks whether Braverman was "involved" in a leak to the Telegraph on 20 January, when she was Attorney General, in a case involving the security service and whether she has ever shared any other government documents by Whatsapp or other social media.

Cooper concludes: "The PM promised this would be a government of integrity, of professionalism and of accountability.

"Isn’t the Home Secretary failing on all of these accounts?”

Image source, House of Commons / PA Media

Cooper says that 96% of small boat arrivals last year have not had a decision on their immigration application.

She continues: "Initial decisions alone are taking more than 400 days on this Conservative government’s watch."

She alleges that the Nationalities and Borders Bill has "added further delays leading to tens of thousands of more people waiting" as well as "hundreds and millions of pounds being spent on accommodation bills because their policies are pushing up the increase in delays".

The shadow home secretary asks Braverman if she breached the ministerial code three times in one day on 19 October, the same day on which she had meetings about Manston.

"How is anyone supposed to have confidence in her on serious issues?" Cooper asks.

Cooper asks Braverman to confirm whether she has spent an extra £200m on the Rwanda plan, on top of the already-spent £120m, "on a policy she has herself described as 'failing'?"

She asks: "Isn't it time to drop this unethical and unworkable scheme and put money into tackling backlogs and criminal gangs?"

Cooper goes on to say there has been "a total failure" to prevent "a huge proliferation of [criminal] gangs in the Channel".

She asks of Braverman: "Why has the home secretary refused our calls for a major new National Crime Agency unit with hundreds of additional specialist officers to work with Europol and others to crack down on the gangs, as well as the urgent work needed with France to get a proper agreement in place?"

Yvette Cooper is now addressing the conditions at Manston.

"Over 4,000 people are now at a site meant to accommodate 1,800," she says, quoting risks of "fire, disorder and infection" as well as "outbreaks of violence and untrained staff".

Cooper says these signal "deeper government failures" and says that decision-making has collapsed.

The Commons is now hearing from Labour's Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who describes the fire attack in Western Jet Foil as "truly appalling".

"I'm sure the whole house will condemn it in the strongest possible terms," she says, adding that she echoes Braverman by paying tribute to the emergency services and Border Force Staff who responded.

"But I must ask her, can she tell me whether counter terror police and counter extremism units are involved in the investigation?" Cooper asks.