A British politician has been slammed for suggesting the UK is bringing in the 'wrong' kind of refugees.
According to Huffington Post, Bill Wiggin asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson stop only allowing migrants in ‘rubber boats’ into the country.
“Why can’t we get the right people through our immigration system, instead of the wrong ones?" he asked during the Parliamentary Liaison Committee.
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The North Herefordshire MP also demanded visa-free access for Qataris while asking why the process was delayed.
“We have on at least three occasions promised the Qataris visa-free access," he said.
"These are very wealthy people who are unlikely to stay. And yet despite saying we do it three times, we still haven’t delivered.”
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The PM responded: “If I understand you correctly, Bill, what you are saying is, why can't the Qataris and other Gulf countries have visa-free access?”
Wiggin added: “We wanted Ukrainians, we want Qataris, we don't want people in rubber boats.”
Wiggin’s comments have come under fire as the Conservative PM recently declared a £2,740 (AU $4,789) Qatar-funded trip to the Gulf country.
Many slammed the MP's comments on social media, with one user writing: "My family came with nothing & they produced a Chief Prosecutor & much else. Countless people made their lives here & made this country greater. But apparently, we’re the wrong ones."
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Another wrote: "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."
Britain's asylum rules have been heavily criticised amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
The UK has only given out 2,700 visas under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, unlike other European countries, which have waived visas short term to speed up the process.
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The Refugee Council, the British Red Cross, Save the Children, and Oxfam wrote a letter to The Times and said the slow visa process was ‘causing great distress to already traumatised Ukrainians’.
“Those who want to come to the UK are having to navigate a complex web of bureaucratic paperwork to get visas, leaving them facing protracted delays without any information about the status of their application.”
Chief executive of the Freedom from Torture charity Sonya Sceats also slammed Britain’s efforts as ‘woeful’ and said the visa system should be amended in the face of the invasion.
She said: "In a month where people across the country signed up to welcome more refugees than the government has in 10 years, these woeful numbers prove why visa-based schemes are an unsuitable gateway for refugees fleeing Ukraine to reach safety here in the UK."
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: News, Politics, UK News, Boris Johnson
