The Bishop of Dover says she believes some British people are only concerned about immigration of “brown people” but would open their homes to others.
Speaking to the BBC’s HARDtalk, Rose Hudson-Wilkin said she did not hear complaints about Ukrainians or Chinese Hong Kong citizens entering the UK.
“Isn’t that interesting? I find it interesting”, she told Stephen Sackur.
A government spokesman said: “It is wrong to compare and set vulnerable groups against each other.”
The bishop was addressing concerns her congregants may have about small boat arrivals on the Kent coast.
The Right Reverend Hudson-Wilkin, who was born in Jamaica and is the first black female bishop appointed by the Church of England, said some British people “do not understand their own history”.
She said: “I love to remind the British that they were economic migrants when they went to Africa, when they went to Asia, when they travelled to the Caribbean.
“They wanted to improve their lives. That’s what these people are doing.”
And she said it was because of those global historic links that “people feel a natural affinity and connection” with Britain and wanted to come here.
‘Appalled’
Tens of thousands of people crossed the Channel on small boats last year, many of whom came from some of the poorest and most chaotic parts of the world.
So far this year, more than 8,000 have made the journey – 2,000 less than this time last year.
The government’s Illegal Migration Bill aims to give ministers the power to remove anyone arriving in the UK illegally, and migrants would then be barred from claiming asylum.
Instead they would be detained and removed, either to Rwanda – with which the UK has an agreement – or another “safe country”.
Bishop Hudson-Wilkin said she was “appalled” by the government’s plans as “since time immemorial people have moved, people have picked themselves up, picked their families up and decided [to go] where life is better.”
A government spokesperson said: “It is wrong to compare and set vulnerable groups against each other. The UK has a proud history of supporting those in need of protection.
“Our resettlement programmes have provided safe and legal routes to better futures for hundreds of thousands of people from across the globe.
“However, the world is facing a global migration crisis on an unprecedented scale, and change is needed to prevent vile people smugglers putting people’s lives at risk and to fix the broken global asylum system.
“Rwanda is a fundamentally safe and secure country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers.”
You can listen to the full interview with Rose-Hudson Wilkin, the Bishop of Dover, on BBC Sounds or BBC iPlayer.
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