Shelagh Fogarty rebukes caller's claim that Channel migrants ‘aren’t refugees’ as they have smart phones

9 December 2022, 16:10

By Hannah Holland

Keith in Guildford told Shelagh Fogarty that people crossing the Channel in small boats are "economic refugees" and that the country "can't afford" to look after them.

The conservation comes as figures show that more than 40,000 migrants have crossed the Channel to the UK this year. Of this number, 12,000 Albanians have arrived using small boats.

Keith in Guildford insisted that those crossing the channel in small boats are “not proper refugees” but “economic refugees”.

“You see all the Albanian guys coming over - they’ve got smart phones!”

Shelagh interjected: “Have you met them all Keith? You know they’re all the same do you?”

“We need to wake up and realise that this country cannot afford to keep spending this amount of money on putting people up and looking after them”, Keith responded.

Shelagh then referred to Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s decision to send £63 million a year to France a year - up £8 million - in a bid to stop migrants crossing the Channel.

“Imagine if we used that more constructively?” Shelagh asked.