AN SNP MP has skewered the Rwandan asylum seekers scheme as a Government attempt to “virtue signal” to a “heartless and xenophobic” group of Tory backbenchers.
Speaking on Politics Live, Stephen Flynn, MP for Aberdeen South, was discussing the details of the UK Government’s plan to send asylum seekers who the UK Government has deemed to have entered the country unlawfully to Rwanda for processing.
Flynn described the scheme as “disgusting” and that the legal basis underpinning it was “doubtful”.
He said: “For me, it’s emblematic of a UK Government which is intent on virtue signalling to what I believe is a heartless and xenophobic minority within the Tory backbenches.”
Flynn’s comments prompted an audible laugh from fellow panelist and economist Miatta Fahnbulleh.
Flynn then clashed with Peter Bone after the Tory MP said that he didn’t “understand the situation”.
Flynn cut across Bone saying: “Don’t condescend me like that. How do I not know the situation?”
Bone accused Flynn of not understanding how evil human traffickers are before the SNP MP insisted that their disagreement was more to do with how to challenge them.
Bone said: “The way to combat that is to create safe and legal routes for some of the most vulnerable people on the planet, to get them to safety – not to ship them off to Rwanda.
“A country which has questionable Human Rights, if you are gay, lesbian or transgender then you are going to be punished in that country. It is simply not acceptable. It’s not in my name”
The SNP then took issue with Bone’s previous references to the will of Parliament in the debate as the Tory MP said that it should be up to the Commons to decide how the UK deals with migrants, not the courts.
Bone said: “You keep referencing Parliament, it’s your party, not my party and not my country, that supports this.”
