David Lammy: It would seem Middle England is against the Rwanda asylum policy

18 April 2022, 12:56 | Updated: 19 April 2022, 13:14

David Lammy: It would seem Middle England is against the Rwanda asylum policy

It would seem that Middle England is against the Government's Rwanda asylum policy, David Lammy has said.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has said that the plan to send migrants to Rwanda will act as a "blueprint" for other countries in the world to follow.

Both the Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop of York have criticised the plan.

The Archbishop of Canterbury called the plan "the opposite of the nature of God".

In response to the Archbishop of Canterbury criticising the plan, Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg told Radio 4’s The World This Weekend programme: "I've read carefully what his grace has had to say, because he is somebody I greatly admire and I think he is a true witness for Christ in an increasingly secular world.

"So anything he says is important. I don't agree with him.

Iain Dale took on this caller on the Rwanda deal

"I think he misunderstands what the policy is trying to achieve, and that it isn’t an abandonment of responsibility. It is in fact a taking on of a very difficult responsibility."

While presenting on LBC, the Labour Shadow Foreign Secretary responded to Mr Rees-Mogg's words.

Mr Lammy said: "There's Jacob Rees-Mogg patronising the Archbishop of Canterbury, saying that he doesn't understand what the policy is trying to achieve.

"I think it's self-evident that the Archbishop of Canterbury understands what the policy is trying to acheive.

"Interestingly enough, the Archbishop of York also took the opportunity to criticise the policy.

"So Middle England it would seem is against this policy of sending asylum seekers and refugees to Rwanda, which might be an indication that British public opinion is changing."