Refugee charity rejects Tory vice-chair’s claim they are ‘just as bad as people-smugglers’

Nadeem Badshah
Sat, 18 February 2023 

Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty

A volunteer organisation has dismissed a claim by the new Conservative deputy chair that Calais refugee charities are “just as bad as people-smugglers”.

Lee Anderson, who was given the role by Rishi Sunak during the prime minister’s recent reshuffle, accused refugee organisations based in northern France of “fuelling” people’s desire to cross the English Channel in small boats.

Anderson said that on a recent trip to Calais with the Commons home affairs select committee, he saw “hundreds of young men” being helped by those working with the British charity Care4Calais.

He told the Telegraph: “You’ve got the people-smugglers, you’ve got the camps, the charities at the camps.

“You’ve then got, when you get to England, the hotels, the lefty lawyers – it is one big multimillion-pound industry.”

In response, Care4Calais said: “Our operations in northern France focus on the provision of humanitarian aid and we seek to provide some friendship and dignity through activities like English lessons, football matches, and simple teas and coffees.

“We provide no assistance – or encouragement – to refugees with journeys to the UK. We do not want any individual to attempt to cross the Channel in a small boat, or by other dangerous means.

“We see the real-life consequences of people-smuggling; that is why we campaign for safe routes for people who want to seek asylum in the UK.”

The volunteer-run charity distributes aid to refugees sleeping rough in and around Calais, many of whom have fled war, persecution and political oppression, according to its website.

Anderson, a former Labour councillor who defected to the Tories, also claimed migrants were “encouraged” to make the dangerous crossing by being taught English by the volunteers.

“They weren’t fleeing any war, or persecution, they told us that they wanted to come for a better life in the UK,” he claimed.

Anderson has been no stranger to controversy. He was criticised earlier this month for calling for the return of the death penalty in an interview with the Spectator magazine a few days before his appointment.

Sunak was forced to note that neither he, nor the government, shared this view.