Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson refuses to apologise for ‘go back to France’ comment – but says government has failed to tackle illegal immigration
Lee Anderson has refused to apologise for saying asylum seekers who don’t want to be housed on barges should “f*** off back to France”.
But the Conservative deputy chairman also said there was “no doubt” the government had failed to tackle illegal immigration.
The Tory MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire made the remark about asylum seekers after it emerged about 20 of them were granted a last-minute reprieve from boarding the Bibby Stockholm accommodation vessel on Monday.
The charity Care4Calais said their transfers from hotels were “cancelled” after lawyers challenged the decision to move them on to the barge moored off the Dorset coast.
Labour labels barge a ‘floating failure’ – politics latest
Asked by Nigel Farage on his GB News show on Tuesday evening whether he will be apologising for the words he used, Mr Anderson said: “No.”
When questioned by the former Brexit campaigner about whether his use of the “f-word” was in bad taste, Mr Anderson replied: “No… it’s borne out of frustration.
“It’s borne out of me being absolutely furious. It’s not just me that’s being furious, it’s my constituents and millions of people up and down the country.”
A general view of the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge which is set to house up to 500 asylum seekers
And when asked if the Conservative government had failed to tackle illegal immigration effectively, Mr Anderson said: “We have failed on this, there’s no doubt about it.
“We said we’re going to fix it, it is a failure. But we have got policies in place – I know it’s a bit hard for the British public at the moment to understand what we’re trying to do with the Rwanda flights, and the change in legislation, the Illegal Migration Bill.
“It seems very slow and cumbersome – we’re up against it, we’ve got the lefty lawyers, the human rights campaigners, we’ve got the charities, everything’s against us.
“I’m not making excuses, but it’s slowing us down. If we had the whole of parliament behind us I’m sure this would have got through by now.”
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Barge reminds migrant of Islamic State
Mr Anderson added it makes him feel “sick” every time a boat carrying migrants crosses the Channel and it makes him “furious” when asylum seekers are housed in hotels and on barges.
He said: “I’ve been to Calais, I’ve seen these migrants living in one-man tents, living in absolute squalor.
“Then they get here, we do our best, we bend over backwards to put them in decent accommodation, and all of a sudden they get a choice.”
The government hopes the use of the Bibby Stockholm barge and former military bases to house asylum seekers will reduce the cost of hotel bills.
Home Office minister Sarah Dines said those arriving in the country via unauthorised means should have “basic but proper accommodation” and that they “can’t expect to stay in a four-star hotel”.
She claimed hotels were part of the “pull” factor attracting people to the UK.
Mr Anderson said “grafters” in the oil industry who are “doing a job for this great country of ours” live on barges and “never complain once”.
He continued: “It makes me sick to the pit of my stomach when these lefty lawyers, the charities, the human rights campaigners, say it’s not good enough.
“If it’s not good enough, [the asylum seekers] should go back to France.”
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The director of asylum accommodation at the Home Office, Cheryl Avery, speaks to Sky News.
What were Anderson’s initial remarks?
The Tory deputy chairman had sparked controversy when he told Express.co.uk: “If they don’t like barges then they should f*** off back to France.”
He added: “I think people have just had enough.
“These people come across the Channel in small boats… if they don’t like the conditions they are housed in here then they should go back to France, or better not come at all in the first place.”
Downing Street defended his use of the “f-word” when speaking about asylum seekers.
When asked if this view represented the government, Number 10 pointed to comments made by Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, who said the “indignation” of Mr Anderson was well placed.
“The justice secretary was speaking on behalf of the government. That is the response,” the spokesperson told Sky News.
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Nigel Farage has confirmed he wants to deport women asylum seekers back to the Taliban in Afghanistan if he becomes prime minister.
The Reform UK leader’s position on the topic has not been clear, with him previously saying he would send women back to the fundamentalist regime that took over after western militaries withdrew, before now saying he would.
Mr Farage was speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby at the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham.
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When asked if he would “detain” women and children and “send them back”, the Clacton MP said “yes”.
Challenged on when he said in August that he was not “discussing” women and children, Mr Farage claimed this was a reference to his desire to seeing men detained on arrival in the UK.
At the time he said he was “very, very clear” on the “deportation of illegal immigrants”, adding: “We are not even discussing women and children at this stage – there are so many illegal males in Britain, and the news reports that said that after my conference yesterday were wrong”
Speaking today, Mr Farage claimed that the UK has a “duty of care” if a four-year-old arrives in a dinghy, for example – but not so for women and men.
“For clarity, those that cross the English Channel will be detained and deported, men and women,” Mr Farage went on.
“Children, we’ll have to think about.”
The Reform leader also rowed back on his pledge to stop all boats within two weeks if he is elected prime minister.
Speaking to the conference yesterday, Mr Farage said: “You cannot come here illegally and stay – we will stop the boats within two weeks of winning government.”
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But speaking to Beth Rigby today, he changed tack – saying “the passing of legislation” would be required.
He said the boats would then be stopped within two weeks, or sooner.
In the interview with Rigby, Mr Farage tried to claim he did not say he would end the boats within two weeks of “winning government”.
But the video of his speech, as well as the transcript released by Reform UK, clearly show him saying: “We will stop the boats within two weeks of winning government.”
When asked why he wouldn’t be able to stop the boats within two weeks of winning government, Mr Farage said it was impossible and “no one” can prevent them crossing the Channel.
The Reform UK leader said the law he wants to introduce will be called the Illegal Migration Act once it is passed by parliament.
He confirmed his agenda includes leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, shutting down asylum hotels and housing people at RAF bases instead, as well as deporting Channel migrants.
Mr Farage also claimed that deportation flights would also begin within two weeks of the law changing, and this combination of factors would stop people from wanting to travel from France.
This strategy all depends on Reform UK winning the next general election – which Labour does not have to call until 2029.
However, Mr Farage says he believes the government will collapse in 2027 due to economic pressure and other factors.
Reform are currently well clear of Labour and the Conservatives in the polling, and are targeting next year’s Welsh, Scottish and English local election to try and win more power in councils and national assemblies.
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