The Secretary of State for Crime at the British Home Office, Chris Philp, on Friday described the complaints of migrants who are overcrowded in the Manston detention center in the county of Kent as «cheeky» in the context of a case that has raised controversy in the country.
Philp has defended the «legality of the center» despite the fact that other senior government officials have warned of irregularities given that there are currently some 4,000 migrants inside despite the fact that it was built to house some 1,600 people.
«If people decide to enter the country illegally, it is a bit cheeky to complain about conditions when you have entered a country irregularly and without need,» he said before pointing out that those who «have already passed through other countries in Europe don’t even have to come here.» «The numbers of arrivals are staggering,» he said, according to information from the newspaper ‘The Independent’.
In this sense, he has lamented that the authorities spend millions of euros a year to «take care of people who arrive illegally», something that he considers, «is very generous» on the part of the United Kingdom. «Our asylum system is better than that of many European countries,» he said.
However, Philp has earned criticism from members of the opposition, such as Liberal Democrat spokesman Alistair Carmichael, who said that his comments «reveal a totally insensitive complacency towards the disaster recorded in Manston.»
«It is incredible that as we see stories of sexual harassment, disease and chronic overcrowding, their response is to accuse those who complain of acting brazenly,» he said.
Home Affairs Minister Suella Braverman is under severe pressure in the face of criticism of her for allegedly allowing the conditions for migrants at the detention center to worsen.
She has also been accused of allowing the situation to spiral out of control after a dozen asylum seekers at Manston were left with nowhere to stay. Her words have also raised controversy after she spoke of an «invasion» of migrants and alluded to «Albanian criminals».
