Compared to Nazi Germany, the British government defends its anti-immigration plan

The British government on Wednesday defended its controversial illegal migration bill in the face of widespread criticism, including from former footballer Gary Lineker, star BBC presenter, who compared his speech on refugees to that of the Nazi regime.

With this new legislation, the conservative executive of Rishi Sunak seeks to combat the sharp increase in migrants arriving illegally in small boats crossing the English Channel from the French coast.

Stopping irregular arrivals by sea is the “people priority” assured the prime minister in the weekly question session in the House of Commons, promising “put an end to criminal gangs” who traffic migrants.

The text prohibits people who have arrived in this way from applying for asylum and subsequently settling in the UK or applying for British citizenship. It also makes it easier to detain migrants until they are expelled to a third country considered safe.

“It is not racist to say that we have too many illegal immigrants abusing our asylum system.”, defended the interior minister, the ultra-conservative Suella Braverman, on Wednesday in an opinion article published in the Daily Mail.

The bill was strongly criticized by refugee aid organizations, which consider it contrary to international law. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, declared himself “deeply concerned”.

But it was the words of former England international Lineker that grabbed the headlines of many conservative newspapers on Wednesday.

“My God, this is beyond horrible. There is no mass influx (…) it is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed against the most vulnerable people in language not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 1930s.”the now host of the BBC’s “Match of the Day” tweeted on Tuesday.

Conservative lawmakers have called on the BBC to sanction Lineker, accusing him of going too far.

Interviewed on the BBC, Braverman, who has been criticized in the past for her comments on migrants, said she was “obviously disappointed that you compare our measurements to those of Germany in the 1930s.” “I don’t think it’s an appropriate way to lead the debate,” added.

“We are not breaking the law. We are confident that the measures we announced yesterday (Tuesday) meet our international legal obligations.”also declared the minister to the Sky News channel.

Source: AFP