Our own children must come before migrants

I would like to congratulate Peter Hitchens on his article last week on the migrant crisis that carried the headline ‘We won’t save refugees by destroying our own country’.

While most of the media are pandering to the bleeding-heart brigade, Mr Hitchens is telling it as it is. For instance, he questioned whether the mass of young men in Budapest demanding access to Germany were in fact refugees, and, yes, to me, they certainly don’t seem traumatised.

Children are dying every day in the UK because they can’t get the treatment they need because of lack of Government funding. And elderly people are being denied social care.

Politicians are saying that refugees are welcome, but if I had a row of empty houses not one would be offered to a refugee until poverty and homelessness had been eradicated in the UK.

C. O’Hara, Gateshead

Just another day at the office for Peter Hitchens but what an article he has written this week. I’m afraid I differ from his views on many occasions, but this week he’s scored a bullseye. His balanced view perfectly summarised the problems developing every day and until he’s put his finger on a situation heading for disquiet and our Christian morals and beliefs being put to the sword by the rapidly growing population with a totally different approach law and order, I take my hat off to his courage at spelling out in plain language, our current situation.

Boyd Scott-Brown, Perthshire.

It is gratifying that David Cameron has made a sensible compromise on the refugee problem by agreeing to admit Syrians from the camps on the Syrian borders. Those who are illegally attempting to gain entry into Europe are predominantly male and of the same age group as the UK citizens who were conscripted into the Forces to fight the Germans – and many of them lost their lives. Yet these people have deserted their families, wives and children in these war zones to flee to Europe. Do they intend to return to Syria to fight Islamic State in the same way that the Polish, French and Scandinavians fought to regain their countries’ freedom?

G. Bushell, Barrow-in-Furness

Your letter-writers last week, Donna and David Stephens, say their village is willing to accept ten migrant families. Would it also accept ten disadvantaged youngsters currently languishing in children’s homes for lack of suitable foster homes? Or does their compassion extend only to foreigners? Diane Bellhouse, Sandal, Wakefield

The majority of displaced people crossing into Europe appear to be in their 20s or 30s. Who is protecting their parents and grandparents from the ‘danger’ from which the youngsters are fleeing?

If David Cameron does save people from Syria, no doubt they will be the aged and infirm, to stretch our resources further, while Germany takes on a new, young and able workforce.

Mike Walsh, Kings Heath, Birmingham

Successive governments have done a fantastic job in reducing our defence budget and drastically cutting our number of defence force personnel.

Finding homes for our migrants should be a piece of cake now, in all those disused Army barracks, Air Force bases and Naval yards that still have married quarters and barrack blocks.

Melvyn Wilkins, Forest of Dean

The media coverage, especially by the BBC, of the migrant crisis enveloping Europe is shameful, biased, unbalanced reporting. Instead of bombarding us night after night with images whipping up public sympathy, and therefore putting pressure on the Government to soften its approach, the other side of the story should be investigated.

For instance, how is it that these migrants who have supposedly lost everything have the money to pay people-traffickers thousands of euros to get into Europe? And why are 90 per cent of the migrants male?

R.J. Walker, Cheltenham