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Elaine McCallig
Mar 31, 2022
Tory MP praises rich Qataris as ‘right’ type of immigrant, not refugees ...
The Independent
A Tory MP has been criticised for asking why the UK can’t get the “right” sort of migrant instead of “people in rubber boats”.
Addressing the prime minister during a Commons committee meeting, Sir Bill Wiggin yesterday asked why we can’t get “the right people” through the UK immigration system instead of “the wrong ones”.
The North Herefordshire MP complained about the hold-up in binning the need for visas for rich Qataris. The Middle Eastern country has long been criticised for its human rights record.
Speaking yesterday, he said: “We have, on at least three occasions, promised the Qataris visa-free access.
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“These are very wealthy people who are unlikely to stay. And yet, despite saying we do it three times, we still haven’t delivered.”
He continued: “The only people who are turning up are turning up in rubber boats.
“Why can’t we get the right people through our immigration system, instead of the wrong ones?”
Responding, Boris Johnson bumbled before asking him to clarify, to which Wiggin said: “We want Ukrainians, we want categories. We don’t want people in rubber boats. Yet we’re not getting it”.
Johnson said the Nationality and Borders Bill would stop what he called “the cruel trading of people across the Channel”.
The much-criticised Bill, currently in its final stages, could criminalise illegal refugee crossings and send asylum seekers abroad for processing.
Wiggin’s remarks have since been criticised, with people taking to social media to share their thoughts on the MP’s comments:
Personally I am ready to start swapping Tories like Bill Wiggin, who has proved himself to lack common compassion and decency, with people arriving in a "rubber boat" who statistically are likely to be decent human beingshttps://twitter.com/PippaCrerar/status/1509183867705565185\u00a0\u2026— Bank Andshoal What I stand for is what I stand on (@Bank Andshoal What I stand for is what I stand on) 1648667350
Brexiter Bill Wiggin MP North Herefordshire. "We don't want people in rubber boats." "Why can't we get the right people through our immigration system instead of the wrong ones". This is Brexit Britain for you. Vile.pic.twitter.com/bXmBiRCwED— Jude \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa \ud83d\udc99\ud83c\udf39 (@Jude \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa \ud83d\udc99\ud83c\udf39) 1648653087
My family came with nothing & they produced a Chief Prosecutor & much else\nCountless people made their lives here & made this country greater\nBut apparently, we\u2019re the wrong onespic.twitter.com/YkwrzUfYRf— nazir afzal (@nazir afzal) 1648656623
If a German MP said in Parliament or outside we only want the "right kind of migrants" to come to Germany that MP would be rightly expelled. Should the same not apply to Bill Wiggin?— Daniela Nadj (@Daniela Nadj) 1648660175
The only reason Qataris and Ukrainians aren't arriving in rubber boats is that you built [slowly, inadequately, and apparently contrary to every instinct of the Home Office] a way for them to apply for asylum without first smuggling themselves to Britain on a raft.https://twitter.com/PippaCrerar/status/1509183867705565185\u00a0\u2026— Dmitry Grozoubinski (@Dmitry Grozoubinski) 1648654781
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered.
- To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here.
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