Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber: Migrant crisis on 'same level as climate change'

19 November 2021, 10:35

Lord ALW: The refugee crisis is on the 'same level as climate change'

Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber has told LBC he fears the migrant crisis is on the “same level as climate change”.

The composer said “it’s not going to work” if the UK “turns a blind eye” to the thousands of migrants arriving in the country.

More than 23,000 people have arrived in the UK this year after crossing the English Channel in small boats. This is almost three times last year’s total of about 8,500.

It comes after Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told LBC yesterday that the government is looking at processing migrants overseas.

In an exclusive interview, Lord Lloyd Webber said this morning: “It’s a really, really difficult issue because at the moment, with all these migrants desperately trying to come to the country, you have to think: ‘What is behind all this?’.

“And my feeling is that it’s such a global issue now that it really can’t be swept under the carpet on another level. I think it’s of the same level as climate change.

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“It’s so inter-linked because there are people who are actually becoming refugees due to climate change. I just don’t think we can forget about it.”

He added: “Britain is obviously a very very crowded country in many ways but if we at the same time turn a blind eye and just say all of these people have got to go back, it’s not going to work.”

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It comes after Qirjako Qirko, the Albanian ambassador, said claims the UK was in talks with Albania to process migrants are "absolutely fake news".

Mr Qirko, also speaking exclusively to LBC this morning, said there have been “zero talks” between Albania and UK “regarding these processing centres”.