Tory says ‘nobody with ounce of sense’ believes migrants’ barge snub reason

A chief Tory has ramped up the rhetoric on migrants, calling on refugees refusing to board the barge in Dorset to  ‘f*** off back to France’. Lee Anderson ‘s comments have sparked fierce support and opposition and come after 20 migrants avoided boarding the giant barge, which is moored at Portland Port, yesterday. Mr Anderson split opinion among his fellow MPs, with Red Wall Tories saying: ‘The reality is Lee is just saying what the majority of the country are thinking’. But former Shadow Home Secretary Dianne Abbott described the comments as ‘a new low even for the Tories” . This morning the Tory party chief responded to claims that some of the 20 migrants who avoided being moved onto the Bibby Stockholm claimed to have a ‘severe fear of water’. Migrants board the barge for the first time (Image: Getty) Lee Anderson said: ‘Really? 50 illegals a time cram into rubber dinghies to cross the busiest shipping lane in the world and then say they fear water’. I do not believe them and no-one with an ounce of sense would.” Left-wing charity Care4Calais intervened to stop 20 migrants boarding the barge yesterday, infuriating Tories and the Government. A Government source said: ‘This just shows what we are up against: Labour-linked charities and lawyers are repeatedly trying to stop us from moving illegal migrants out of expensive hotels. ‘Other European countries use barges safely and at lower costs than hotels.’ The Sun later revealed the migrant claiming to have a fear of water arrived in Britain by plane, rather than a small boat crossing the Channel. Lee Anderson’s comments about the migrant barge have caused a splash (Image: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA) Mr Anderson has also issued some advice for his opponents. ‘Every illegal migrant that crosses the Channel from France is taking the place of someone genuinely in danger in a refugee camp,” he said. ‘Why can’t you see that these fit healthy young men are actually preventing help reaching those desperate people who really need it?’ A poll out this morning shows fewer than one in 10 Brits believe Rishi Sunak’s immigration target will be met, including just 15 percent of Tory voters. Just nine percent overall have confidence Rishi Sunak will cut the number of asylum seekers crossing the Channel.