‘This is what winds people up!’ Lee Anderson clashes with ex-Labour adviser over ‘smash the gangs’ migrant plan

Former Labour adviser Stella Tsantekidou found herself at the end of a scolding by GB News presenter and Reform UK MP Lee Anderson in a lively discussion about Labour’s migrant crisis plans.

The new Government is under fire on the matter with many calling on Sir Keir Starmer to outline how he intends on setting about “smashing the gangs”.

Reform’s Lee Anderson is one, and he bemoaned what he perceives to be a lack of a clear vision on GB News.

“Yvette Cooper has been asked time and time again, if an illegal migrant comes over from Afghanistan where we have no returns agreement and their asylum claim is rejected, where do we send them to?’, he asked.

Tsantekidou hit back by demanding a closer relationship with the EU: “If they come from Afghanistan there’s a good chance they are genuine refugees.

“You need a good relationship with other European countries, however you are still talking to me about a tiny number of people.

“I am worrying about why when the UK has so many problems, you decide to focus on a tiny, tiny, tiny number of people.

“We are in need of workers and these people are capable.”

Shaking his head in dismay, Lee responded: “When you have lived and worked here all your life as I have and my grandparents and you have paid into the system, the last thing you want is people coming over and taking advantage of not just our asylum system, our legal system, our housing, our welfare.

“This is what winds people up.”

Political commentator Theo Usherwood waded in on the discussion to claim around 70,000 migrants in the backlog of asylum claims are likely to be granted the right to stay in Britain.

“It remains to be seen if their plans work”, he said.

“They are trying to take the heat out of the situation by closing the Bibby Stockholm.

“The Government wants to take the heat out of the debate. The Home Office are trying to dampen it down by talking about ‘irregular migration’ rather than ‘illegal migration’.

“They have shut down the Rwanda scheme and they want to overturn a clause in Rishi Sunak’s and Suella Braverman’s migration act.

“The clause had the effect of you came to this country in a small boat, you would have no right to claim asylum in this country.”