Gary Lineker has no reason to apologise. The Tory Immigration Bill is Nazi-style immoral

Gary Lineker: once again, his compassion for others has set him against Establishment rhetoric.

The demonisation of Gary Lineker – for pointing out something that should be obvious and uncontroversial – is disgraceful and the Tories doing it should be shunned.

The European Convention on Human Rights was set up in the early 1950s, and Suella Braverman’s filthy little Illegal Immigration Bill spits on it.

She admits it:

The United Nations has also stated that the Bill undermines the “very purpose” of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which “explicitly recognises that refugees may be compelled to enter a country of asylum irregularly.” The statement added: “International law does not require that refugees claim asylum in the first country they reach.”

That convention was introduced in recognition of the failure of neighbouring countries to help refugees from Nazi Germany when they needed it.

In Parliament, Braverman referred to her Bill removing “foreign national rapists, drug dealers and murderers” – and was reprimanded by Labour’s John McDonnell for “inflammatory language” that was putting asylum-seekers and those who represent them “at risk”.

In response to earlier such shenanigans, former footballer and TV presenter Gary Lineker tweeted that the language in which Braverman’s plan was set out was “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s”. He has a point, it seems.

But of course he faced a backlash. Braverman herself called his words “unhelpful”:

But of course Mr Lineker wasn’t trying to help her; he thinks her law is rotten. Notice that she appealed to “the British people”, claiming that her law was in line what the people want. Isn’t that exactly the kind of rhetoric that the Nazis used?

Also:

Dehumanising people was exactly what the Nazis did, of course.

And – of course – Braverman cynically inflated the figures on the number of people allegedly trying to come to the UK:

The media debate is big on emotion and small on detail, with other claims added in to boost the failing Tory rhetoric.

For example, on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Susannah Reid had to torpedo a claim that all asylum claims should be refused (75 per cent are valid) and that civil servants were inclined to grant all asylum claims for an easy life (there’s no evidence to support that at all):

The United Nations has provided valuable insight on the facts here. Its refugee agency, the UNHCR, has stated that Home Office data indicates that the “vast majority” of small-boat migrants would be granted refugee protection if the UK considered their claims.

“Branding refugees as undeserving based on mode of arrival distorts these fundamental facts,” the agency added, calling on the government to consider its own “concrete and actionable proposals” as a way to reduce the demand for small-boat crossings.

Underlying all this is the fact that the so-called “war on immigrants” has been manufactured by the Tories in order to give people a bogeyman to fear and revile.

The reason people are coming across to the UK in small boats is simply that Boris Johnson turned his back on the UK’s former “returns” agreement with the European Union, that allowed a Labour government to return 60,000 people in its last year in office. That’s more than the most recently-recorded number of people coming in. Watch:

Labour has, at least, recognised that there is an easy way to solve the issue of people crossing the Channel in small boats:

Mr Lineker faces a “frank conversation” with his BBC bosses about his criticism of the government, which the Corporation – under its Tory-supporting, Tory-appointed chairman – is claiming contradicts its impartiality rules.

But of course, he was tweeting in a personal capacity.

I am reminded of Rachel Riley’s vigorous campaigning against Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party in the run-up to the 2019 general election.

Her right to do this was not publicly disputed by her employer, the broadcaster Channel 4.

Isn’t it incongruous that she was allowed to undermine a left-winger’s election campaign but Mr Lineker is being reprimanded for passing a reasonable comment on a right-winger’s attack on refugees?

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6 thoughts on “Gary Lineker has no reason to apologise. The Tory Immigration Bill is Nazi-style immoral”

  1. Hecuba

    Gary Lineker is correct the fascist tories are enacting nazi policies by demonising and dehumanising women, children and men who are attempting to seek refugee asylum in little england!

    Fascist tories don’t want their fascist cruel policies be subjected to succinct analysis because the fascist tories believe all ‘foreigners’ are criminals coming to Little England in order to steal English jobs and claim income support!

    Fascist tories believe they have the right (sic) to violate international law by ignoring the UN 1951 Refugee Convention to which little england signed and agreed to abide by!!

    Suella Braverman and Rishi Sunak beware – both of you have parents who migrated to Little England and I have no doubt once the fascist tories have ‘deported all those nasty foreigners’ they will turn their attention on you two and other fascist tory politicians whose parents were migrants!

    BBC is now a puppet of the fascist tory dictatorship so of course the BBC will attempt to silence Gary Lineker but the real shame lies with BBC and all those racist xenophobic bigots!

  2. William-Glyn THOMAS

    Gary has no need to apologise. He has the right to an opinion. An ideal candidate as an Member of Parliament. BBC should keep its nose out of the trough. The Chairman is a Tory plant.

  4. Stu

    Here’s a little observation of the BBC curtailing Free Speech in favour of the Government –
    On BBC News, there are usually many “Have Your Say” topics usually populated by Gammon venters, but today the only topic that’s been allowed is the HS2 being paused knowing that people will trash it making it look like the Government has made a good decision.
    Lineker, Small Boat and other controversial topics seem to have been out of bounds for days.

  5. John Costello

    A few years ago, one of the providers under contract to the Department for Work and Pensions to carry out the Work Programme (The Shaw Trust) issued a booklet for jobseekers with the title ‘Feel the freedom that a job can provide’ which is uncomfortably close to ‘work gives you freedom’ (Arbeit Macht Frei).

    The Programme providers were merely echoing the vile rhetoric that was coming out of the Department for Work and Pensions at the time, but they should have known better.

Comments are closed.