Mary-Ann Stephenson, the new head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has attacked those who describe immigration as a risk to Britain and said leaving the ECHR would be a “mistake”. The Telegraph has more.
Mary-Ann Stephenson, the Chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), used her first major intervention since taking the job at the beginning of December to warn against the demonisation of immigrants.
Dr Stephenson, who was chosen by Sir Keir Starmer’s administration to succeed Baroness Falkner of Margravine, also said that leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – the treaty that has been blamed by critics for blocking migrant deportations – would be a mistake.
Her comments signal a shift in approach from her predecessor, who warned last year that integration in Britain appeared to be failing.
Record levels of both legal and illegal migration in recent years have led to concerns about their impact on community cohesion, with protests taking place outside migrant hotels this summer, as well as their cost to the taxpayer.
Reform UK, which has a double-digit poll lead that puts it on track to form the next government, has promised a complete freeze on all non-essential migration.
Labour has responded by toughening its own stance on the issue. In September, the Prime Minister admitted that his party had previously got it wrong on migration, while legislation introduced by Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, requires migrants to prove their social worth.
In her second interview since being appointed, Dr Stephenson suggested that people should limit negative descriptions of migrants.
She said: “I think it’s really important that we have honesty in the way that we talk about human rights, and that we also have a recognition that the demonisation of migrants, the creating [of] this idea that migration causes huge risks for the country, can make the lives not just of migrants to the UK, but of ethnic minority UK citizens, very, very difficult.”
Before her appointment, Dr Stephenson previously lobbied the Government to abandon its ‘smash the gangs‘ policy and allow more asylum seekers into the country, comparing criticism of refugees to “hostile politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past”.
Nigel Farage, Reform’s leader, led a backlash to her comments on Sunday night. He said: “Reform believes we should deport terrorists, rapists and serious foreign criminals. The vast majority will agree with me that we must prioritise the rights of British people, whatever their ethnicity.”
Public concern about migration is now at its highest level in a decade, according to YouGov polling, with 51% of respondents saying it is one of the most important issues facing Britain.
The cost of operating the UK’s asylum system currently exceeds £5 billion a year, with £2.1 billion of this allocated to housing and supporting tens of thousands of migrants in about 200 hotels.
More than 1.2 million foreigners now claim Universal Credit, while modelling suggests a low-wage migrant who arrives in Britain at the age of 25 will pose a net cost of about £187,000 by 65.
Worth reading in full.
Even more asylum seekers – is she mad? Is 108,000 a year not enough for her? She certainly hasn’t read the public mood. Or more likely doesn’t care what the unwashed masses think of her class’s little experiment in transforming a country via open borders.
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