A Conservative MP has been accused of playing up to racist stereotypes after claiming that her office was “besieged by asylum seekers” and that her staff were intimidated by young men, most of whom she said should be expelled as “illegal migrants”.
Jill Mortimer told Rishi Sunak during prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons that people in her constituency of Hartlepool were “afraid and angry”.
“Every week my office is besieged by asylum seekers. My staff are intimidated by young men. The fact is, most of them are illegal migrants who should be expelled,” she said.
To groans from some opposition MPs, she asked Sunak: “Will the prime minister take action? Will he make sure enforcement is delivered? Will he make sure people who have no right to be here are expelled? Enough is enough. I want these people out of Hartlepool now.”
Mortimer’s comments were criticised by Tamsin Baxter, executive director of external affairs at the Refugee Council, who said that the majority of people who come to the UK seeking asylum would be recognised as refugees in need of protection.
“They are people whose lives were at risk and who have had to flee from the horrors of war and persecution. We would urge parliamentarians to steer clear of hostile and misleading rhetoric, which can have dangerous consequences for vulnerable people in the asylum system,” she added.
Rosie Carter, director of policy at Hope not Hate, said politicians had a duty to think carefully about the language they used.
“Playing up to racist stereotypes about asylum seekers and scaremongering is simply not acceptable or responsible behaviour from an MP,” she added.
“Hope has recorded a sharp increase in far-right anti-migrant activity around the country, which can tear apart communities. This is made worse when politicians do not act with care and calm in difficult situations.”
Sunak told Mortimer at prime minister’s questions: “I would like to reassure her that this government is doing everything we can to tackle illegal migration and the harm it causes by removing those with no right to be here in the UK.”
“We have excellent longstanding relationships to return people to many countries, we are returning thousands of people more this year than we have done in the past. And we will continue to use every avenue at our disposal to ensure that it is only this country and this government who decides who come here and not criminal gangs.”
Mortimer was elected in May 2021 as Hartlepool’s MP in what was a humiliating byelection defeat for Labour in one of the party’s former heartland towns.
