Tories call new EHRC chair ‘disgrace' after she says ‘demonisation of migrants' bad for UK
The Conservatives and Reform UK have strongly criticised the new head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission for criticising the “demonisation” of migrants”.
Mary-Ann Stephenson, who took up her post as chair of the EHRC at the start of the month, appealed for restraint in language used to discuss migrants in an interview with PA Media published last night.
The interview, as published, largely focused on Stephenson’s thoughts about the European convention on human rights. But it also included this comment from her about immigration.
I think it’s really important that we have honesty in the way that we talk about human rights, and that we also have a recognition that the demonisation of migrants, the creating this idea that migration causes huge risks for the country, can make the lives not just of migrants to the UK, but of ethnic minority UK citizens, very, very difficult.
Stephenson did not specify who or what she was referring to, but the rise in the number of asylum seekers arriving in the UK on small boats in recent years has coincided with an upsurge in hostile comments about migrants in the rightwing media, and from Reform UK and the Tories.
Much of this negative commentary links migration with criminality, on the basis of partial, contested or nonexistent evidence and there has been much more of this from the Conservative party since they lost the election and since Rishi Sunak was replaced as leader by Kemi Badenoch. Only last week Badenoch responded to the publication of the government’s violence against women and girls strategy by implying that the main threat to women comes not from British men, but from migrants.
This morning the Daily Telegraph has splashed on Stephenson’s comments. Its story includes a quote from Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, saying:
Reform believes we should deport terrorists, rapists and serious foreign criminals. The vast majority will agree with me that we must prioritise the rights of British people, whatever their ethnicity.
This morning Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, went further. He issued a statement saying:
These comments by the new Labour-appointed human rights chief are a disgrace. Once again, the left tries paint those opposed to mass immigration and illegal immigration as racist.
Mass migration with no integration has undermined social cohesion. Sex crimes by foreign nationals are up 62%, foreign criminals and illegal immigrants routinely abuse human rights, modern slavery and asylum laws to stay in the UK.
This nonsense has to end. It is completely wrong that Labour’s new human rights chief dismisses legitimate concerns about mass migration and crimes committed by foreign nationals – including the recent spate of rapes and sex attacks committed by small boat illegal immigrants.
Stephenson was appointed by the Labour government to replace Lady Falkner, who was appointed by the last Conservative government. Previously Stephenson ran the Women’s Budget Group, a feminist, economic thinktank.
Key events
Greens broadly welcome animal welfare strategy, but urge PM to follow Wales in banning greyhound racing
The Green party has broadly welcomed the government’s animal welfare strategy. In a statement, the Green MP Adrian Ramsay said:
There is much to welcome in the animal welfare strategy, but it must have real teeth to deliver for animals. Ministers must set clear timescales to phase out crates and cages, properly support farmers through the transition and not allow imports that don’t meet UK standards.
I welcome the action on snares, hunting and puppy farming. Puppy legislation must end breeding for extreme, unhealthy traits in dogs. The strategy could go further for animals, particularly by ending greyhound racing, as the Welsh government is doing.
Ending the use of farrowing crates and cages – as we called for in the cross-party letter I organised – is particularly crucial for tackling cruelty, and the strategy must set out how and when this will happen.
Resident doctors say they will resume talks to avoid further strikes with ‘can-do spirit’
Resident doctors have said they will approach talks with Wes Streeting with a “can-do spirit” to avoid further strikes in the new year, as their five-day action ended this morning. Rowena Mason has the story.
In her interview with PA Media, Mary-Anne Stephenson, the new chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, also criticised calls for the UK to leave the European convention on human rights. This is a policy supported by both Reform UK and the Conservative party, although Stephenson did not talk about that in the published interview remarks. Kevin Rawlinson has more on what she said on this topic here.
Tories call new EHRC chair ‘disgrace' after she says ‘demonisation of migrants' bad for UK
The Conservatives and Reform UK have strongly criticised the new head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission for criticising the “demonisation” of migrants”.
Mary-Ann Stephenson, who took up her post as chair of the EHRC at the start of the month, appealed for restraint in language used to discuss migrants in an interview with PA Media published last night.
The interview, as published, largely focused on Stephenson’s thoughts about the European convention on human rights. But it also included this comment from her about immigration.
I think it’s really important that we have honesty in the way that we talk about human rights, and that we also have a recognition that the demonisation of migrants, the creating this idea that migration causes huge risks for the country, can make the lives not just of migrants to the UK, but of ethnic minority UK citizens, very, very difficult.
Stephenson did not specify who or what she was referring to, but the rise in the number of asylum seekers arriving in the UK on small boats in recent years has coincided with an upsurge in hostile comments about migrants in the rightwing media, and from Reform UK and the Tories.
Much of this negative commentary links migration with criminality, on the basis of partial, contested or nonexistent evidence and there has been much more of this from the Conservative party since they lost the election and since Rishi Sunak was replaced as leader by Kemi Badenoch. Only last week Badenoch responded to the publication of the government’s violence against women and girls strategy by implying that the main threat to women comes not from British men, but from migrants.
This morning the Daily Telegraph has splashed on Stephenson’s comments. Its story includes a quote from Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, saying:
Reform believes we should deport terrorists, rapists and serious foreign criminals. The vast majority will agree with me that we must prioritise the rights of British people, whatever their ethnicity.
This morning Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, went further. He issued a statement saying:
These comments by the new Labour-appointed human rights chief are a disgrace. Once again, the left tries paint those opposed to mass immigration and illegal immigration as racist.
Mass migration with no integration has undermined social cohesion. Sex crimes by foreign nationals are up 62%, foreign criminals and illegal immigrants routinely abuse human rights, modern slavery and asylum laws to stay in the UK.
This nonsense has to end. It is completely wrong that Labour’s new human rights chief dismisses legitimate concerns about mass migration and crimes committed by foreign nationals – including the recent spate of rapes and sex attacks committed by small boat illegal immigrants.
Stephenson was appointed by the Labour government to replace Lady Falkner, who was appointed by the last Conservative government. Previously Stephenson ran the Women’s Budget Group, a feminist, economic thinktank.
What's in government's new animal welfare strategy?
Here is a summary from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of what’s in the animal welfare strategy.
Improved welfare for companion animals by:
-Reforming dog breeding practices to improve health and welfare, preventing animals from becoming unwell and ending puppy farming
-Consulting on a ban on the use of electric shock collars due to the possible harm to our pets
-Considering the introduction of new licences for domestic rescue and rehoming organisations to ensure rescues have the right checks in place
-Promoting responsible dog ownership to protect public safety
Improved welfare for farmed animals by:
-Moving away from confinement systems such as colony cages for laying hens and the use of pig farrowing crates
-Addressing the welfare issues that arise from the use of carbon dioxide to stun pigs because of animal welfare concerns
-Introducing humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish to spare them avoidable pain
-Promoting the use of slow growing meat chicken breeds
Protection for wild animals by:
-Banning trail hunting amidst concerns it is being used as a smokescreen for hunting
-Banning snare traps because they cause suffering to animals and can catch pets
-Introducing a close season for hares which should reduce the number of adult hares being shot in the breeding season, meaning that fewer young hares are left motherless and vulnerable to starvation and predation
Ministers defend ‘most ambitious animal welfare strategy in generation’ as NFU claims it could undermine British farming
Good morning. Parliament is in recess, ministers, like everyone else, are getting ready for Christmas, but the government does have a big announcement today – its animal welfare strategy. The document is being published later today, but the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has already published a good summary here.
There are multiple strands to what is being proposed. As Helena Horton reported at the weekend, there are plans to ban trail hunting and shooting hares during most of the year.
And there will be higher welfare standards for farmed animals, including the banning of colony cages for chickens, and pig farrowing crates.
The Conservatives are claiming this will lead to British farmers being undercut by rivals from countries where standards are lower. In her response to the plans, Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, said:
While it is good to see the government taking forward Conservative policies to tackle puppy smuggling and livestock worrying, Labour is yet again favouring foreign farmers over British farmers by allowing substandard foreign imports to undercut our already-high welfare standards.
Labour have snuck this announcement out just before Christmas to avoid scrutiny, because they know that this will be another hammerblow to farming profitability. Once again, they have shown that they simply don’t care about rural Britain.
Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers’ Union, was on the Today programme this morning and he echoed these concerns – although his language was less alarmist than Atkins’.
Bradshaw told the programme:
We’ve seen from history that, if we don’t implement the changes that we want to have in our production systems here within our import standards, all we do is export our industry overseas.
We saw that with our pig industry back in 1999 where we used to produce 80% of our pork, but now we only produce about 45% …
We’ve got to make sure that we don’t drive food price inflation by adding a cost burden to the production system. The battery cages that have been banned are still in use in countries around the world, particularly in some of our Eastern European counterparts where we are importing eggs from those systems.
So what we in the National Farmers’ Union want is a system of fairness so that, if we have higher animal health and welfare standards here, then our imports have to meet those same standards of production.
Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, has defended the plans, calling them “the most ambitious animal welfare strategy in a generation”.
There is not much in the diary for today, but we are getting a No 10 lobby briefing at 11.30am.
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