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This week it’s been mostly about illegal immigration and asylum, with the Prime Minister doing his best to convince us that he “gets it” and that we are “right to be angry about illegal immigration”. Take a look at his article in the Daily Mail on Monday. The following day, our Chairman, Alp Mehmet, responded with a comment piece also in the Daily Mail. You can click here to read that too.
On Monday, some forty ministers and officials from around the world met in London for yet another “landmark conference”. A communiqué was issued setting out how participants will deepen their collaboration internationally “to tackle this vile crime”. Now, how decisive is that! There was no mention of “illegal immigration,” to quote the Prime Minister. It was all about dealing with “Organised Immigration Crime” (OIC). We genuinely struggled to see the point of the conference. The final three paragraphs of the Home Office press release illustrated the vacuity of the conference and why we just don’t believe Sir Keir and his Home secretary are serious about tackling illegal immigration. See what you think:
“The Home Secretary also announced joint work with France to fund an additional grassroots engagement programme to educate local communities on the dangers of irregular migration and people smuggling gangs, raising awareness of the realities and difficulties with travelling to Northern France to cross the Channel to the UK.
This will target both potential irregular migrants and, for the first time, teachers, religious leaders, and family members within vulnerable communities, and builds on the Home Office digital deterrence comms campaign that is already running in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The UK will also collaborate with France to deliver critical training to Iraqi officials and commercial transport staff, helping them detect fraudulent documents and passports used to facilitate irregular migration and OIC activities.”
If that’s not cringeworthy, what is?
There was another headline on Tuesday that had us gasping in disbelief:
“Asylum system risks ‘damaging social cohesion’, Glasgow city council warns.” Council says cost running into tens of millions, as homeless refugees granted asylum across UK come to city for support.”
It prompted a sharp intake of breath at Migration Watch HQ. No, this wasn’t the Daily Mail or Telegraph, Express or The Sun reporting. Believe it or not, it was The Guardian. Really. Take a look.
You may recall another headline, also in The Guardian, in May 2021, “Glasgow protesters rejoice as men freed after immigration van standoff.”
The incident happened in Nicola Sturgeon’s (remember her?) constituency. After the release of the two Sikhs who were to be returned to India (and eventually were), Ms Sturgeon tweeted, “I am proud to represent a constituency and lead a country that welcomes and shows support to asylum seekers and refugees.” Be careful what you wish for, Nicola…
This is a preview of Migration Watch’s free weekly newsletter. Please consider signing up to the newsletter directly, you can do so here and will receive an email copy of the newsletter every week as soon as it is released.