At last! A bishop who talks sense on migrants
By Tammy Hughes and Daniel Martin for the Daily Mail
John Sentamu (pictured) warned that Britain should not be seen ‘as a soft touch’ and demanded that other EU nations offer homes to asylum seekers in their own countries.
The Archbishop of York has accused European countries of ‘shunting’ migrants towards the Jungle camp in Calais.
John Sentamu, the Church’s second most senior cleric, warned that Britain should not be seen ‘as a soft touch’ and demanded that other EU nations offer homes to asylum seekers in their own countries.
His extraordinary intervention will be seen as a rare example of a senior churchman stepping directly into political territory – in this case the volatile subject of immigration.
Other senior faith figures have spoken of the need to treat migrants with compassion, but Dr Sentamu has directly addressed the EU’s border controls and the failure of its member states to give assistance to migrants passing through their countries.
Last night one Tory MP praised the Archbishop for speaking up about an ‘awkward truth’.
Dr Sentamu said the Jungle camp only exists because of the passport-free Schengen zone, which allows refugees rom the Middle East and Africa to make their way to the shores of the English Channel.
He also warned it was impossible to know whether or not some of the migrants are members of Islamic State.
He made his comments at the Henley Literary Festival, which is sponsored by the Daily Mail.
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