Lee Anderson insists Calais refugee charities are ‘just as bad as people smugglers’ as Tory deputy chairman accuses volunteers in France of ‘fuelling’ migrant crisis
- Lee Anderson has said refugee charities are ‘just as bad as people smugglers’
- The MP made the comments in reference to charities in Calais after a visit there
New Conservative deputy chairman Lee Anderson has claimed Calais refugee charities are ‘just as bad as people smugglers’.
The outspoken MP for Ashfield, who was given the post by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a recent reshuffle, accused the organisations of ‘fuelling’ migrants’ desire to cross the English Channel in small boats.
It comes following his controversial call for the return of the death penalty, when he insisted that a majority of Britons – including millions of Conservative voters – would like to see a return to capital punishment.
He also stressed his view should not be a ‘big surprise’ as it is an ‘an opinion I’ve always held from being a teenager’.
Mr Anderson’s comments on migrants come after hundreds gathered in Liverpool, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, for a ‘refugees welcome’ rally.
Lee Anderson MP has accused Calais refugee charities of of ‘fuelling’ migrants’ desire to cross the English Channel in small boats
Police stand guard outside a hotel housing asylum seekers after a riot broke out following a protest
The event was organised following a riot outside a hotel in Knowsley where asylum seekers were being housed.
Mr Anderson told The Telegraph: ‘You’ve got the people smugglers, you’ve got the camps, the charities at the camps.
‘You’ve then got, when you get to England, the hotels, the lefty lawyers – it is one big multimillion-pound industry.’
Mr Anderson claimed that on a recent trip to Calais with the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, he saw ‘hundreds of young men’ being helped by workers at the British Care4Calais charity.
He believed the migrants were ‘encouraged’ to make the dangerous crossing by being taught English by the volunteers.
‘They weren’t fleeing any war, or persecution, they told us that they wanted to come for a better life in the UK,’ Mr Anderson told the paper.
In response, Care4Calais said: ‘Our operations in Northern France focus on the provision of humanitarian aid and we seek to provide some friendship and dignity through activities like English lessons, football matches, and simple teas and coffees.
‘We provide no assistance – or encouragement – to refugees with journeys to the UK. We do not want any individual to attempt to cross the Channel in a small boat, or by other dangerous means.
‘We see the real life consequences of people smuggling; that is why we campaign for safe routes for people who want to seek asylum in the UK.’
(File Photo) Mr Anderson criticised charities in northern France for ‘encouraging’ migrants to cross the Channel
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks at a ‘refugees welcome’ rally in Liverpool on Saturday
The volunteer-run charity distributes aid to refugees sleeping rough in and around Calais – many of whom have fled war, persecution and political oppression, according to its website.
A former Labour councillor before joining the Tories, Mr Anderson has been no stranger to controversy.
He drew criticism earlier this month by calling for the return of the death penalty in an interview with The Spectator magazine a few days before his appointment.
Mr Sunak was forced to note that neither he, nor the Government, shared this view.
In the same interview, Mr Anderson said migrants arriving unlawfully in Britain should be returned the ‘same day’ to where they came from.
‘I’d put them on a Royal Navy frigate or whatever and sail it to Calais,’ he said.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Anderson doubled down on his views, insisting that bringing back the death penalty is ‘not some fringe or lunatic opinion’.
However, he did acknowledge it would likely never become Government policy.
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