{UAH} 'Marauding' migrants threaten standard of living, says foreign secretary

Immigration and asylum

Comrade Akim Odong,

The latest ramblings from the political class. Pay special attention
to the speech of the Foreign Secretary, Mr Hammond.


George Okello


'Marauding' migrants threaten standard of living, says foreign secretary

Senior Labour figures accuse Philip Hammond of scaremongering after he
claims Europe 'can't protect itself' if forced to take millions of
migrants

Hammond said EU laws that mean migrants can be confident they will
not be returned to their country of origin are 'not a sustainable
situation'. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/PA The foreign secretary,
Philip Hammond, has weighed in to the debate over migration with some
of the government's strongest language yet, claiming millions of
marauding African migrants pose a threat to the EU's standard of
living and social structure.

Senior Labour figures responded by accusing Hammond of scaremongering
after he claimed Europe "can't protect itself" if it has to take in
millions of migrants from Africa.

Speaking to the BBC while visiting Singapore on Sunday, Hammond said:
"The gap in standards of living between Europe and Africa means there
will always be millions of Africans with the economic motivation to
try to get to Europe."

He said: "So long as there are large numbers of pretty desperate
migrants marauding around the area, there always will be a threat to
the tunnel security. We've got to resolve this problem ultimately by
being able to return those who are not entitled to claim asylum back
to their countries of origin."

Hammond said EU laws meant migrants could be "pretty confident" that
after setting foot on EU soil they would not be returned to their
country of origin. "Now that is not a sustainable situation because
Europe can't protect itself, preserve its standard of living and
social infrastructure if it has to absorb millions of migrants from
Africa."

Three of the candidates to be Labour's next leader condemned Hammond's
use of language. Shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, described it as
"alarmist and unhelpful", and Liz Kendall said there should be no
place for dehumanising language in the debate. Jeremy Corbyn said
Hammond's comments were part of a pattern of language designed to whip
up prejudice and hostility.


Hammond's intervention is the latest evidence that the government is
heightening its anti-immigration rhetoric in response to the migrant
crisis in Calais, but its use of language surrounding the issue has
already led ministers into controversy.


In July, rights groups and politicians rounded on David Cameron when
he told ITV news that there was a "swarm of people coming across the
Mediterranean" to seek a better life in Britain.


Labour leadership candidate Andy Burnham criticised the prime
minister's phrasing, tweeting: "Cameron calling Calais migrants a
'swarm' is nothing short of disgraceful. Confirms there's no
dog-whistle these Bullingdon Boys won't blow."

— Andy Burnham (@andyburnhammp)
July 30, 2015

Cameron calling Calais migrants a "swarm" is nothing short of
disgraceful. Confirms there's no dog-whistle these Bullingdon Boys
won't blow.
When it was announced last week that Britain was to fund an extra 100
border guards at the Channel tunnel terminal on the French side,
Hammond said the government had "got a grip" on the Calais migrant
crisis, but over the weekend the prime minister appeared to contradict
the foreign secretary, saying: "We have done a lot in recent days to
improve the situation but there's a lot more to do."

An estimated 5,000 migrants have gathered in Calais this summer, with
hundreds attempting to get on to shuttle trains or freight lorries to
travel through the tunnel to the UK. At least nine people have died
trying to cross to Britain during the crisis, and it was reported last
week that a Sudanese man walked almost the entire length of the
31-mile tunnel from France before being apprehended by Kent police
close to the exit at Folkestone.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The foreign secretary said last week the
Calais migrant crisis is under control More than 120,000 migrants have
arrived in Greece so far this year, including 50,000 in July alone.
About 90,000 have travelled to Italy by sea so far this year, after it
received 170,000 in 2014, according to the UN refugee agency. Many of
the newcomers then look to move swiftly to northern Europe, including
to England. Germany has more people applying for asylum than any other
EU country and is this year expecting to receive more than 400,000
applications, more than double the number in 2014.

Greece's prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, said the country's
infrastructure could not handle the thousands of people arriving on
its shores from war-torn areas such as Syria and Afghanistan, and that
it needed help from the EU.

Related:
More on this topicGive me your tired, your poor … the Europeans
embracing migrants

"Now is the time to see if the EU is the EU of solidarity or an EU
that has everyone trying to protect their borders," said the leader of
the leftwing Syriza party after a meeting with ministers on Friday.

The shadow foreign secretary, Hilary Benn, said the government needed
to demonstrate responsibility and international leadership, and that
Hammond should "think more carefully about what he says". "Those
fleeing Syria are desperate refugees from a country being torn apart
by war," he added.

Candidates for the Labour leadership rounded on Hammond's remarks.
Cooper said: "As NGOs have pointed out, many of those crossing the
Mediterranean are fleeing a terrible conflict and humanitarian crisis
in Syria. Yet Britain is doing too little to help address the European
refugee issue. We need practical responses to help refugees, stop
people smuggling, and prevent illegal travelling – and European
countries need to work together to implement them, not just resort to
divisive statements instead."

Corbyn urged politicians to "explicitly recognise the contribution of
Africans and other migrants to our society, not speak in these
disgraceful terms."

Kendall said: "The Tories should focus on policy solutions not ramping
up the rhetoric. We should not lose sight of the human tragedy these
stories represent and Britain should always take its fair share of
refugees and asylum seekers."

British employers who give jobs to illegal immigrants will be hit with
the "full force" of government, immigration minister James Brokenshire
said last night. He said the government was determined to act against
businesses that were denying work to British nationals and driving
down wages.


"Rogue employers who give jobs to illegal migrants are denying work to
UK citizens and legal migrants and helping drive down wages,"
Brokenshire said.

"Experience tells us that employers who are prepared to cheat
employment rules are also likely to breach health and safety rules and
pay insufficient tax. That's why our new approach will be to use the
full force of government machinery to hit them from all angles and
take away the unfair advantage enjoyed by those who employ illegal
migrants."

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