Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood rages as she’s ‘known as f****** p***’ on UK streets
The Home Secretary set out the Government’s migration plans in the Commons on Monday, and hit back at accusations her plans are “stoking division” across the UK
Shabana Mahmood revealed she is routinely called a “f****** P***” and told to “go back home” on British streets. The comments came after the Home Secretary unveiled her plans to overhaul the asylum system in the UK.
During a heated debate in the House of Commons over her immigration proposals on Monday (November 17), the Home Secretary struck back at Liberal Democrat accusations that she was “stoking division” through her rhetoric. She added that the move is necessary to get control of Britain’s borders, but problems within the country are still rife.
Addressing MPs this evening, Ms Mahmood declared that she is often the target of racial abuse as she walks down British streets. She defiantly said that she would like to one day know the feeling of not having abused hurled at her because of the colour of her own skin.
“I wish I had the privilege of walking around this country and not seeing the division that the issue of migration and asylum system is creating across this country,” the Home Secretary said. “Unlike him, unfortunately, I am the one that is regularly called a f****** P*** and told to go back home.”
She continued, as reported in the Express: “It is I who knows, through my personal experience and that of my constituents, just how divisive the issue of asylum has become in our country.” Ms Mahmood emphasised the urgency of reform, stating: “This system is broken, and it is incumbent on all Members of Parliament to acknowledge how badly broken the system is and to make it a moral mission to fix this system so that it stops creating the division that we all see.”
She also defended her approach, saying: “We’re not saying that we will take everything away and leave that individual destitute. But I think contribution is a fair principle here.”
Her comments came in response to Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson, who had questioned her choice of words. He argued that Mahmood had claimed that the country was being “torn apart” by immigration, but was “stoking division” herself with her language towards migrants and asylum seekers.
Mr Wilkinson has fiercely criticised the Government’s proposal to make asylum seekers contribute towards costs, labelling it as “cruel, state-sponsored robbery”, and asserting that it won’t rectify the system. It comes as Ms Mahmood outlined new reforms designed to discourage illegal migration to the UK.
The Home Secretary outlined stricter plans to revamp asylum policy, which have already incited opposition from Labour backbenchers. The plans are somewhat modelled on the new Danish system, implemented as a way to deter migrants from crossing the Channel illegally.
Ms Mahmood addressed MPs, stating the “uncomfortable truth” that the UK’s asylum offer, in comparison to other European nations, is attracting individuals to our shores. And for British taxpayers, the system “feels out of control and unfair”.
She added that the rate of change for some areas had “destabilised communities”. As a result, she described Britain as becoming “a more divided place”.
“There will never be a justification for the violence and racism of a minority, but if we fail to deal with this crisis, we will draw more people down a path that starts with anger and ends in hatred,” she said. “I have no doubt about who we really are in this country; we are open, tolerant and generous.
“But the public rightly expect that we can determine who enters this country, and who must leave. To maintain the generosity that allows us to provide sanctuary, we must restore order and control.”
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