Germany ‘is encouraging a tsunami of refugees’

A SENIOR Tory MP last night tore into Germany for seeking to use the migrant crisis to solve its ‘own internal economic problems’.

Sir Bill Cash said that, ‘despite all the hype’, the Germans had given nowhere near as much aid to Syria as Britain – which has contributed £1billion.

Instead the country has thrown open its doors to the migrants flooding into Europe, before closing them this week when the numbers became too great.

Sir Bill claimed Germany, which for years has had a falling and ageing population, had been trying to boost its economy by inviting in working-age migrants.

Speaking in the Commons, he told Home Secretary Theresa May: ‘Germany, despite all of the hype, has not done anything like as well as the UK in terms of providing money for the world food programme.

‘Some of their policies have clearly been orientated towards assisting their own internal economic problems. She should have a word with her counterpart to ensure that Germany does actually step up to the mark in doing the sort of things that are really going to help and stop the tsunami of millions of people who could well come over here and swamp Europe.’

Mrs May replied: ‘We are actually giving about double what Germany is giving in terms of actual aid to refugees in the region.’

And she told MPs that the first of the 20,000 vulnerable Syrians Britain has agreed to take direct from refugee camps in the region would begin to arrive ‘within days’ – with meetings taking place between town hall bosses and charities to decide how best to welcome the new arrivals.

The Home Secretary also insisted that asylum seekers would be screened before they were accepted, to stop Islamic State taking advantage of the Syria crisis to get terrorists into the UK.

Former Tory home secretary Ken Clarke suggested that some migrants should be housed in ‘safe haven’ camps outside the EU while they are processed to see if they are genuine asylum seekers.