Labour’s Clive Lewis has sparked a backlash after he in contrast housing migrants at a Pontins vacation park to a ‘focus camp’.
The Norwich South MP was {accused} of utilizing ‘inflammatory language’ as he tore into the Tories’ document on dealing with asylum claims.
Mr Lewis made the ‘appalling’ comparability shortly earlier than it was confirmed that 4 folks had died after a migrant boat capsized within the English Channel.
The most recent tragedy within the small boats disaster occurred a day after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled a five-point technique to stem the crossings.
His plans embrace utilizing disused vacation parks, former pupil halls, and surplus navy websites to finish asylum seekers being housed in lodges, at a £5.5million every day value to taxpayers.
Mr Lewis, a former shadow minister underneath Jeremy Corbyn, right this moment seized on reviews that Pontins vacation parks might be among the many websites used to assault Mr Sunak’s proposals.
He instructed the BBC’s Politics Reside programme: ‘Let’s be actually clear right here, my understanding is, in case you put a gaggle of individuals concentrated right into a camp – as you probably did in South Africa within the Boer Battle – that is what you name a focus camp.’
‘Look what they’re speaking about, placing folks in camps en masse due to their mess.
‘Let’s simply be actually clear the place we’re, that’s the technical time period.’
Labour’s Clive Lewis sparked a backlash after he in contrast housing migrants at a Pontins vacation park to a ‘focus camp’
It has been reported that Pontins vacation parks, together with one at Camber Sands in East Sussex, might be used to accommodate asylum seekers
Mr Lewis made the ‘appalling’ comparability shortly earlier than it was confirmed that 4 folks had died after a migrant boat capsized within the English Channel
Challenged about his remarks, Mr Lewis admitted that ‘language is essential’ when discussing the Channel migrants disaster.
However he doubled down on his criticism of the Authorities and instructed Mr Sunak’s renewed concentrate on the asylum system was ‘for political profit’ and as ‘distractionism’ from the cost-of-living disaster and NHS backlogs.
‘Language is essential however so is motivation and what this Authorities is doing,’ Mr Lewis added.
‘This has been on their watch and they’re doing this and, are you aware what, these those who died in that boat are usually not accountable for the NHS ready lists.
‘These those who died in that boat are usually not accountable for poverty pay, for meals banks.
‘And have a look at this Authorities, after 12 years, they’re stood right here going “oh look – a disaster, do not have a look at the NHS, have a look at these folks coming in right here”.
‘It is the oldest trick within the e book, we must be sick of uninterested in it.’
Former Cupboard minister Damian Inexperienced, who was additionally showing on the programme, instructed Mr Lewis: ‘Each little bit of that’s nonsense’.
And, talking after the programme ended, Mr Inexperienced went additional in his criticism of Mr Lewis’s remarks.
He instructed MailOnline: ‘I feel on a sombre day this type of inflammatory language is particularly inappropriate.’
Fellow Tory backbencher Craig Mackinlay, MP for South Thanet on the Kent coast, additionally joined the backlash and stated it was an ‘appalling similarity to make’.
