Andy Burnham is ‘dishing out a vindictive punishment beating to the middle class’ as he tells all parts of the country to take migrants… and more than 3,000 arrive in just 22 days
DAVID BARRETT, RORY TINGLE, PETER ALLEN
Middle class areas will have to take in more migrants, Andy Burnham said last night.
The Prime Minister said he would make sure arrivals were not only placed in the ‘poorest communities’.
‘All parts of the country need to play their part,’ Mr Burnham added. His vow that more affluent families would have to accept asylum seekers near their homes came as the number of Channel crossings under his premiership passed the 3,000 mark.
Official Home Office figures confirmed that 230 people were aboard the record ‘mega-dinghy’ that was brought into Dover on Monday.
That pushed the total since Labour came to power – beginning with the day after the General Election in July 2024 – past the 80,000 mark.
In comparison with Mr Burnham, Keir Starmer‘s first 22 days as PM saw 2,258 small-boat migrants reach Britain.
When pressed on where asylum seekers would be housed, the Prime Minister said wealthier parts of the UK would need to ‘play their part’.
Mr Burnham was asked on GB News about a 1,200-strong migrant camp being set up near the Oxfordshire village of Piddington, which locals fear would overwhelm the population of 400.
He said: ‘I will listen to what people are saying and respond to the concerns that they are putting forward.
‘I don’t know the issue yet in detail, but in some ways, as I understand it, it is about creating secure space.’
He added: ‘It’s obviously going to be challenging, but I am prepared always to listen to people, to work with people and to pick up legitimate concerns, and I will address those concerns.
‘I do have to say, we cannot have a situation where it’s only the poorest communities in the country that receive all of the dispersal of refugees and asylum seekers. I do believe all parts of the country need to work, to play their part.
‘We understand people’s concerns and I will look into the issues raised by the good people of Piddington.’
Asylum hotels have been the cause of several flash points around the country in recent years. Last week, 15 people were arrested during trouble in Thetford, Norfolk, after anti-immigration protesters demonstrated outside homes they believed housed asylum seekers.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘Andy Burnham is planning to dish out another vindictive punishment beating to the UK’s middle classes.
‘Labour has hammered hard-working families with punitive tax increases galore, increased regulation and soaring energy bills.
‘Now, Burnham plans to deliberately flood more neighbourhoods with thousands of illegal immigrants who he has let into this country, and many of whom will commit serious crimes including rape and murder.’
Just two weeks after he insisted Labour’s boats plan was working, the Prime Minister vowed to ‘change our tactics’ to tackle the gangs bringing migrants across the Channel.
Referring to pictures of the latest mega-dinghy, Mr Burnham added: ‘I know people will have been worried to see that image yesterday.
But Mr Philp warned: ‘We now have a full-blown Burnham borders crisis. Unvetted illegal immigrants – mainly young males – flood across the Channel every day there are calm seas
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(UKR)