Oliver Dowden stands by PM’s claim that immigration could ‘overwhelm’ Europe
Rishi Sunak was “absolutely right” to issue a warning that immigration could “overwhelm” Europe, one of his ministers has claimed.
The prime minister made the remark during a right-wing Conservative event in Italy on Saturday, claiming “enemies” could use immigration as a “weapon” by “deliberately driving people to our shores to try to destabilise our society”.
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Questioned about the comment on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said: “I think the prime minister is absolutely right to issue this warning, and indeed it’s not just a warning, it’s something that we have seen elsewhere.
“We have seen the weaponisation of migration, for example, in the conduct of Belarus in relation to Poland, there’s been warnings from Finland in respect of the conduct of Russia.”
Mr Dowden also claimed there was a “broader point” to the prime minister’s remarks, “which is that we do have to reassure people that we have got control of our borders and we cannot have this unsustainable situation where we’re enriching people smugglers – the worst people on the earth – through allowing this trade in human beings across the Atlantic, across the Channel”.
Pushed by Trevor Phillips over whether the language was “extreme” and could be hurtful to people living in the UK with an immigrant background, the deputy prime minister said he didn’t think the prime minister “meant it in that way at all”.
He added: “What the prime minister meant, and indeed I think it is incumbent on mainstream politicians like myself and the prime minister and the Conservative Party, to make sure we deal with legitimate public concerns about uncontrolled migration.”