Kirk condemns Braverman’s rhetoric of ‘migrant invasion’
The Home Secretary is scapegoating vulnerable refugees and her rhetoric warning of “migrant invasions” only risks inflaming far-right extremism, the Church of Scotland warns today.
In a hard-hitting intervention, Reverend Karen Hendry, convener of the Kirk’s Faith Impact Forum, which speaks on social issues, criticised Suella Braverman for claiming Britain is facing an “invasion” of immigrants crossing the Channel on small boats.
Hendry said: “I was horrified and deeply concerned about the inflammatory and degrading language used by the home secretary.
“We are called to continuously work towards a society that welcomes and is ready to learn from and be transformed by those we encounter.
“Churches across Scotland have been enriched by the contributions of those displaced from their homes and will continue to work towards building a welcoming and hospitable environment.”
Hendry, the minister at Yoker Church, in Glasgow, said: “We have a duty to show particular care for people in greatest need in our world. Language like this stokes further division and promotes a hostile environment for people longing for stability and the chance to rebuild their lives after leaving everything behind in search of safety.
“The language we use matters, especially by those who hold influence and power. We must speak words that heal, restore and build each other up.”
The Church’s outspoken criticism of the home secretary’s hardline position on migrants came as police said inquiries into a firebomb attack on an immigration processing centre in Dover last week suggest it was an act of far-right terrorism.
Andrew Leak, 66, from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, is believed to have killed himself after throwing up to three incendiary devices at the Western Jet Foil site in Kent on Sunday. Counter Terrorism Policing South East said yesterday that evidence had been recovered which indicated the attack “was motivated by a terrorist ideology”. Braverman, whose reappointment as home secretary just six days after she resigned for breaking ministerial rules around confidentiality has been heavily criticised, last week flew to an overcrowded migration centre in a military helicopter. Her trip to the Manston detention facility in the £3,500-an-hour Chinook was also accused of being a cynical attempt to bolster her military rhetoric.
The Home Office said steps were being taken to improve conditions at the Manston site, where 4,000 migrants were being held, some sleeping in marquees, in a facility meant for 24-hour stays by 1,600. Officials are said to be enhancing medical facilities, and providing better catering and more bedding.
A number of asylum seekers shipped out of the centre in recent days have been found lost in
London shortly afterwards. One said he was among a group of migrants left abandoned in central London on Tuesday night. He said they were not told where they were going by officials. The man – who gave his name as Hasibullah, from Afghanistan – said he was among a group of 45 migrants who were removed from Manston and taken to Victoria coach station.
Stuart McDonald, an SNP MP who sits on the House of Commons’ Home Affairs committee, said: “The ongoing reports about the situation at Manston continue to shock – as indeed does the totally dehumanising rhetoric of the home secretary and some of her colleagues. The Home Office’s own figures show 75% of those crossing the Channel – including over 50% of Albanians – are people in need of refugee status or other forms of international protection, and that is what should drive our response.
“These are fellow human beings in desperate need of support – instead, vilification and Home Office negligence await them,” he added.
“Our European neighbours receive many more asylum applications – a competent
government would not have allowed this situation to unfold.
“On Friday we heard that two groups from Manston were left stranded at Victoria bus station in London, and this comes on the back of reports that the home secretary failed to act on legal advice to avoid unlawful detention and serious overcrowding and ill-health.
“All of this is a staggering dereliction of duty by a home secretary more concerned with self-promotion than doing her job properly. Refugees and others make an invaluable contribution to the UK and to Scotland if given the chance.
“But successive governments have seemed hell-bent on denying them any opportunity.
“Rishi Sunak must sack the home secretary immediately and take personal responsibility for fixing this appalling crisis at Manston – all of which has happened on the Tory government’s watch. She should never have been reappointed after being sacked for breaching the ministerial code.” Professor Alberto Testa, professor in criminology at the University of West London and a leading expert on far-right extremism, said anti-immigrant rhetoric was potentially incendiary and could lead to further terror attacks.
He said: “Studies have demonstrated that incendiary narratives promote negative sentiments towards those who are the object of it, especially when this is done by politicians.
“The terms used by Braverman can create fertile terrain for potential imitation and emulation of the attack in Dover.
“These types of comments do not go away, they work as magnifiers, encouraging individuals to express and act on preexisting viewpoints they had once hidden. This kind of action is a great help for those who try to radicalise youths.”
In parliament on Monday, Braverman said the southern coast of Britain was enduring an “invasion” by migrants crossing the Channel.
She added: “Some 40,000 people have arrived on the south coast this year alone. Many of them facilitated by criminal gangs, some of them actual members of criminal gangs. So, let’s stop pretending that they are all refugees in distress.
“The whole country knows that is not true. It’s only the honourable members opposite who pretend otherwise. We need to be straight with the public. The system is broken.
“Illegal migration is out of control and too many people are interested in playing political parlour games, covering up the truth than solving the problem.”
The Scottish Greens were among those pointing out the Tories have been in power for 12 years and if the system is broken, they broke it, and called for Sunak to sack Braverman. Ross Greer MSP, said: “Suella Braverman’s far-right rhetoric about ‘invasions’ was a shameful and transparent attempt to legitimise the horrific treatment of refugees and to shift the attention away from her leaks and scandals.
“Words like that are totally irresponsible, particularly in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack against a centre for asylum seekers in Dover.
“It will only further fan the flames of prejudice. It was so toxic that even the immigration minister has distanced himself from Braverman.
“But this isn’t just about her cruel words. They have shown a total disregard for the rights of often very vulnerable people, especially pregnant women and children.”
The Home Office said: “The number of people arriving in the UK who seek asylum and require accommodation has reached record levels and continues to put our asylum system under incredible pressure.
“Manston remains resourced and equipped to process migrants securely and we will provide alternative accommodation as soon as possible.
“We urge anyone who is thinking about leaving a safe country and risk their lives at the hands of vile people-smugglers to seriously reconsider. Despite what they have been told, they will not be allowed to start a new life here.”