Sammy Wilson
Main Page: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)Department Debates - View all Sammy Wilson's debates with the Cabinet Office
(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
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Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)
The Minister is right that those who engaged in the violence last night should face the full weight of the law, because legally, morally and politically they were wrong. However, if the law is going to apply to those who protested, it should also apply to those who have broken into our country illegally, broken our immigration laws and become the source of many of the problems we face. Instead of that, they are taken by the hand—they have state resources spent on them and accommodation made available to them, and they are then given the right to stay here, even though they have come in illegally.
If this issue is to be addressed, the Government must change their attitude. Those who come into our country illegally should be told, “You will never get asylum.” The Irish Government should be spoken to as well, so that the Irish Republic does not become the conduit for illegal immigration, as the route used by the person who has been accused of this crime.
Dan Jarvis
The law should, of course, always be applied without fear or favour. While I acknowledge the right hon. Gentleman’s points, I hope he understands the Government’s determination to address the issues he raised. The Government have been crystal clear about our commitment to reduce to zero the number of hotels being used to accommodate asylum seekers, and there is a commitment to carry out that process in a different way through the use of larger sites. The right hon. Gentleman will have heard the remarks I made earlier about the increase in the removal of foreign national offenders. This issue is a priority for the Government and for the Home Secretary, and we are working at pace to address the issues he raised.