‘Send asylum seekers to Orkney if Rwanda plan fails’ says Tory MP

A controversial Tory MP has suggested that asylum seeks should be sent to Orkney if the UK Government’s plan to deport them to Rwanda fails.

Lee Anderson was asked about reports that the Falkland Islands was under consideration as a destination for migrants as a back-up to sending them to Africa.

Asked about the Falklands Islands idea, Mr Anderson told GB News: “There’s a better option: We can keep them on British soil if you like. We’ve got the Orkneys or some remote Scottish island. I know it’s a bit parky up there this time of year.

“But if people are genuinely escaping war or persecution then a nice Scottish island with a few outbuildings would be suitable.”

The right-wing politician is MP for Ashfield and the deputy chairman of the Tory party.

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that the government’s plan to send asylum seekers arriving by small boats to Rwanda is in tatters was unlawful.

Mr Anderson added further: “If we can find an island in the Orkneys or up there that’s got no one on there to start off with, put some decent accommodation on, then it’s job done.”

Orkney and Shetland MP and Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Home Affairs, Alistair Carmichael, said: “This is not a serious proposition. I would be astonished if Lee Anderson could even find Orkney — or in his words “the Orkneys” — on a map.

“His remarks show inhumanity towards desperate and vulnerable people — and disdain towards island communities to boot.”