Cologne sex gangs could come here under EU law, PM is warned
IMMIGRANTS accused of sex attacks in Germany on New Year’s Eve could be free to move to Britain within a few years, anti-EU campaigners have warned.
Vote Leave campaign director Dominic Cummings last night said ministers would be powerless to stop at the border any migrants accused of attacking women in Cologne once they have an EU passport.
Ukip leader Nigel Farage said migrants given the right to stay in Germany could become EU citizens within three years.
The comments are an attempt to take on arguments by David Cameron and pro-EU campaigners that a vote to leave the European Union in the forthcoming referendum could undermine Britain’s security. The Prime Minister has said the issue of quitting membership of the EU is ‘not just a matter of jobs and trade but of the safety and security of our nation’.
But Eurosceptics say EU law actually makes it more difficult for Britain to stop criminals coming to this country.
They argue it means that even though Britain has not thrown open its doors to hundreds of thousands of migrants over the past 18 months, it could still suffer the consequences of decisions made in Berlin and elsewhere.
On New Year’s Eve a number of German cities saw a wave of sex attacks and mob violence. In Cologne, more than 500 women have claimed they were sexually assaulted by mobs of young men, with the majority of suspects of North African origin. There have also been complaints of assaults by migrants in Hamburg, Munich
‘There is nothing we can do’
and Berlin. Mr Cummings said voting to leave the EU was the ‘safer choice’. He added: ‘EU law means once Cologne sex abusers get citizenship they can fly to the UK – there’s nothing we can do.’
He said that as well as the importance of economic arguments for leaving the EU, ‘security is also fundamental’. ‘People need to understand the consequences of preserving supremacy of EU law for our security,’ he said.
A spokesman for Vote Leave said: ‘The Government and the Establishment more widely want to claim that the EU makes us more secure, when it is quite clear that the opposite is true.
‘Outside of the EU we can take back control and avoid being exposed to the risks we are seeing on a daily basis on the continent.’
But a senior source at pro-EU campaign group Britain Stronger In Europe said: ‘This is pretty desperate scaremongering from the Out campaigns. They are distorting facts as they ramp up their “project fear” because they know their argument is falling apart.’
Mr Farage told the Mail last night that Mr Cummings was ‘completely right’. He added: ‘Within three years every one of those people in Cologne will have an EU passport and be able to come to Britain. The first job of the British Government should be to protect its people.’
Mr Farage also said he expected most Eurosceptic Tory Cabinet ministers would put their ‘careers before their conscience’ and back the Prime Minister’s efforts for Britain to stay in the EU. In recent days, hopes that several senior figures would lead the Out campaign have faded, with names including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove reported to be no longer in play.
However, it was given a boost by a Survation poll for The Mail on Sunday showing it has a six-point lead over those who want to stay in. David Cameron wants to hold the referendum as soon as possible because a terror attack or worsening of the migrant crisis could boost the Out campaign, it was claimed last night.
A senior EU source said Mr Cameron believes an attack similar to the Paris attacks would be ‘manna’ for the Out campaign, as anxiety increases about EU security.