Tory MP Jonathan Gullis branded ‘pound shop Farage’ over missing children heckle

A Tory MP has been branded “loathsome” after allegedly saying missing migrant children feared to have been snatched by criminals “shouldn’t have come here illegally”.

Jonathan Gullis has been accused of making the “loathsome” remark while heckling a Labour member who raised the plight of 200 unaccompanied youngsters yesterday.

The 33-year-old former Schools Minister was today branded a “pound shop Farage” and accused of using “dehumanising language toward asylum seekers”.

He has been widely condemned on social media after Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Peter Kyle claimed to have heard Mr Gullis shouting as Labour’s Tulip Siddiq questioned Rishi Sunak.

Mr Kyle posted on Twitter: “Tulip Sadiq asks the prime minister about the welfare of 200 unaccompanied migrant children who’ve gone missing.

“Tory MP Jonathan Gullis heckles ‘well they shouldn’t have come here illegally’. Just when you think you’ve heard it all, the Tory Party find a new low.”

Today leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, was urged to condemn the alleged remarks.

SNP Commons leader Deidre Brock fumed: “A member on the benches opposite, who is clearly bent on establishing himself as some kind of Conservative Party pound shop (Nigel) Farage, reportedly shouted something really loathsome yesterday at PMQs about the 200 asylum-seeking children that are allegedly missing.

“It was so despicable I won’t repeat it, but its content must be known to her through the outrage on social media. Will she join me in condemning his remarks, which by victim blaming potentially 200 missing vulnerable children, marks a new low in dehumanising language towards asylum seekers?”

It comes after minister Robert Jenrick admitted 200 asylum-seeking children who were placed in hotels run by the Home Office are missing.

At the weekend the Observer reported that a whistleblower from a Home Office hotel in Brighton said some children had been abducted off the street and bundled into cars.

Mr Jenrick said he had “not been presented with evidence that that has happened” but will continue to investigate.

Ms Mordaunt said: “One of the very sad things about the system at the moment, and we recognise that it is a broken system that needs reform, and we are bringing legislation forward to tackle that, but keeping people in hotels for long periods of time increases their vulnerability.

“We’ve had stories of gangmasters turning up at hotels that they know asylum seekers are staying at, taking people away. It is for very obvious reasons very hard to protect people in that kind of environment. So we have to address this.

“And I do hope that when we do bring forward legislation to tackle this issue, to get the system to work more effectively, make it fairer for both the UK taxpayer but also for those very vulnerable people who are being trafficked, we will have support from all sides of this House.

“This is a serious matter, people need protecting, and we must do so swiftly.”

The Mirror has contacted Mr Gullis for comment.

During an exchange at PMQs yesterday, Ms Siddiq said: “Ministers have admitted that they have no idea about the whereabouts of those children. Does the Prime Minister think that the UK is still a safe haven for vulnerable children?”

In response Mr Sunak said it was “concerning”, and continued: “Local authorities have a statutory duty to protect all children regardless of where they go missing from, and in that situation they work closely with local agencies, including the police, to establish their whereabouts.

“That is why it is so important that we end the use of hotels for unaccompanied asylum seekers and reduce pressure on the overall system. That is what our plans will do.”