Danny Kruger, the Reform UK member of parliament who left the Conservative party last year, said asylum seekers who make the crossing to Britain in small boats are often "wealthy men" and therefore do not deserve support from the British state.
Kruger based his remark on the fact that some migrants pay criminal people smugglers thousands of pounds to arrange their journeys, saying that such expenditure — whether drawn from life savings or borrowed funds — demonstrated that those individuals were relatively well off.
Charities that provide aid to refugees and asylum seekers quickly dismissed Kruger’s characterisation. They rejected the notion that the ability to pay smugglers is an indicator of wealth or a reason to withhold assistance, saying migrants may exhaust all resources and take enormous risks to escape danger or seek safety.
Kruger’s comments come amid ongoing public and political debate in Britain over how to manage irregular Channel crossings and the treatment of people who arrive in small boats. His remarks were made after he joined Reform UK, a party he defected to last year from the Conservatives, and reflect the party’s stance on tighter migration controls.
Reaction to the MP’s statements highlighted the sensitivity of the topic and the divergent perspectives between politicians advocating stricter migration policies and organisations focused on humanitarian support for asylum seekers. Kruger’s remarks are likely to prompt further discussion about how wealth, coercion, and vulnerability are assessed in asylum and immigration policy.