Tory MP says asylum seekers should ‘f*** off back to France’

Lee Anderson (right) made the comments as 15 people boarded the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset (Picture: Rex/PA)

A Tory MP said asylum seekers should ‘f*** off back to France’ if they don’t want to stay on the new Bibby Stockholm barge.

The comments made by Lee Anderson have been defended by justice secretary Alex Chalk, who previously warned about ‘ugly bigotry’ in British politics.

Mr Anderson told the Daily Express: ‘If they don’t like barges then they should f*** off back to France.’

Mr Chalk defended Mr Anderson’s claims on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme and said: ‘Lee is expressing in salty terms I think something that people will understand, which is that the British people have warm hearts, but we also want to have a secure front door.

‘It is not right that people who behave illegally jump the queue compared to those who have played by the rules. Lee has expressed himself in his own way but it’s not unreasonable.’

He was questioned on his previous comments when he argued the UK must present itself as a ‘tolerant, outward-facing nation’ and denounced anyone using Brexit ‘as an excuse for the kind of ugly bigotry that I thought we had left long behind’.

Responding to Mr Anderson’s outburst, Mr Chalk said: ‘I think that this is absolutely fine. I have no difficulty with that. It’s not bigotry at all.

‘This country, lest we forget, has offered its home to 400,000 people since 2015 – so Ukrainians, people from Hong Kong, Afghans.

Lee Anderson has made controversial comments in the past (Picture: Getty Images)

‘We are an open and warm and outward facing country, but equally we’re a country that believes in fairness and playing by the rules.

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‘Those who don’t play by the rules, who take advantage of those opportunities we provide and try to jump the queue rightly cause indignation.

‘I think Lee was expressing that indignation in his own way, but there was nothing unreasonable in principle about what he was saying.’

So far 15 people have been moved onto the Bibby Stockholm, which is moored at Portland in Dorset.

The comments were defended by justice secretary Alex Chalk (Picture: Shutterstock)

Around 50 people are believed to be in the first group to be moved to the boat under controversial government plans.

Rishi Sunak has said the accommodation will ‘help solve a serious problem’, telling LBC last week: ‘This is an example of me doing something different that hasn’t been done before.’

This is not the first controversial comment made by Mr Anderson after he said poor people can’t budget or cook properly.

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