By Russell Bruce
Nothing stirs up our neighbours south of the border more than stories of them being invaded by an uncontrollable number of refugees attempting to cross the English Channel and invade a beach under the White Cliffs of Dover. I will resist a suggestion of what the White Cliffs are meant to imply to impending invaders.
Sajid Javid, the UK anti immigration Home Secretary and current guardian of the hostile environment has recalled a warship from the Caribbean, diverted fishery protection vessels and called on the French to help stem this tsunami flooding the UK with unwanted migrants. If ever there was a case of over reaction then this one is up for a gold award at the next “Grammy’ of idiot news stories.
The saddest aspect of this further example of Javid’s failure to reform the culture at the Home Office is that the son of an immigrant bus driver and small shop owner, has risen to power and influence after a very successful career in financial services and is proactively slamming the door on others.
Javid first entered parliament at the 2010 election having beaten Ruth Davidson for the nomination for the safe Tory seat of Bromsgrove. Javid had been earning £3,000,000 a year at Deutsche Bank and took a massive pay cut to enter politics.
The threat of this unarmed invasion of people, without a bow and arrow between them – in need, tired, hungry and soaked – really does test the ability of the realm to cope with a crisis of such overwhelming proportions.
Our London correspondent caught up with Javid in the lobby to ask him about supporting May on Brexit
Newsnet: What about the Brexit crisis Minister? Will you support the prime minister’s Withdrawal Agreement?
Javid: I have an invasion to deal with – patrols, warships, Is there still a Home Guard? Never in the history of… we will repel their landing craft… we will fight on the beaches… perhaps you would like pictures to go with your report.
Newsnet: OK we will humour you and look for data on what a real refugee crisis looks like, but you haven’t answered the question.
Javid: Mind how you go. I hear there’s a band of thugs out there accosting Remain politicians and journalists.
Fortunately the United Nations keeps records of refugees. The UN Refugee Agency dismissed the ‘controversy‘ pointing out that 539 people attempted to cross the English Channel in 2018 compared to 115,000 who had crossed the Mediterranean. The English Channel issue amounts to less than 0.5% of the volume Europe is dealing with. The UN added that the Rohingya crisis has resulted in 625,000 crossing into Bangladesh to escape the death squads in Myanmar. Statista has produced this graph from the UN figures showing the extent of Javid’s fake crisis.
You will find more infographics at Statista
