A LABOUR MP has sparked fury for demanding illegal migrants be given British citizenship – because we granted it to Paddington Bear.
Stella Creasy said small boat asylum seekers should get the same welcoming treatment as the cuddly kids character.
PAStella Creasy hit out at plans to deprive small boat migrants of citizenship[/caption]
Channel crossings are continuing at a record rate
She hit out at her own party’s crackdown on them ever gaining UK citizenship as part of Home Office efforts to deter Channel crossings.
Border officials have been given toughened new guidance to deny the rights to almost all illegal migrants.
Walthamstow MP Ms Creasy said this would deny those whose asylum claim was granted from integrating into communities with full citizenship.
She added: “It would deny, well, frankly, Paddington. Paddington did the same thing. He came on an irregular route, we gave him sanctuary but wouldn’t give him a passport.”
Doubling down on LBC, she said: “Denying people a voice isn’t the British way forward. We are also the nation which takes great pride in the story of Paddington.
“He was a stowaway from Peru and he went to have tea with the Queen. Wasn’t that a beautiful British moment that everyone celebrated?
“We have to have strong border controls, but we also have to have dignity and decency.”
While the Home Office distanced themselves from the remarks, critics said they threatened Labour’s reputation on borders.
Politics professor Anthony Glees said: “If Labour are determined to lose the next election and learn nothing from Trump’s victory, no power on earth can stop them.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “There are already rules that can prevent those arriving illegally from gaining citizenship.
“This guidance further strengthens measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally, including small boat arrivals, faces having a British citizenship application refused.”
Labour has grappled with the rise since it gained power seven months ago, promising to crack down on people smuggling gangs who profit from the boatloads of migrants.
The Home Office has blamed the rise on the high number of days when weather in the Channel was good.
Channel crossings are more or less tracking where they were this time last year, with no signs of progress.
Labour have pledged to ramp up returns for migrants with no right to be here, either because they have committed a crime or arrived illegally.
They have hailed 19,000 deportations since coming to power from July.
But most of these were voluntarily returns, and are still dwarfed by the 25,000 small boat arrivals in that time.
Officials say four of the UK’s biggest-ever deportation flights have already taken off, carrying more than 850 people.
Yesterday Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said releasing footage of deportations is part of efforts to restore public confidence in the immigration system.
Countries that refuse to take back their offenders face a visa shut-out, ministers have warned.
Those who fail to co-operate in Britain’s deportation blitz would face sanctions, immigration minister Angela Eagle declared yesterday.
This could include blocking visas, making them more expensive, or deliberately delaying their approval.
Ms Eagle put foreign governments on notice after being challenged to use the powers from Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp.
She said: “If co-operation with countries falls below the levels expected, we stand ready to use all levers available to us to encourage action — including the power to impose visa penalties.”
Paddington Bear arrived in the UK illegally Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
