Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics
Get our free Inside Politics email
A Tory MP has compared the government to the ‘Titanic crew’, according to leaked WhatsApp messages.
The messages, apparently leaked from the so-called Tory MPs’ Common Sense WhatsApp Group, reveal a number of parliamentarians attacking civil servants and bemoaning Rishi Sunak’s government.
Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield, suggested that any civil servants blocking the government’s efforts to stop the passage of small boats could be guilty of “treason”, according to Sky News.
The messages were reportedly sent after the Sunday Express printed a front-page story claiming Whitehall officials were trying to “derail” the Prime Minister’s plans to tackle illegal migration.
Mr Anderson said the government’s promised legislation on the issue “will not stop the passage”, saying the controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda could happen “if we had the balls”.
After an MP proposed legislation to tackle the problem, Dudley North MP Marco Longhi said: “I don’t want to shoot the MP.
“But we’ve had legislation before. The ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) takes precedence over everything and our own colleagues want to uphold it, even if it poses a security risk to people in the UK, as we have just seen.
“We will be slaughtered by the locals and in the GE (general election).”
Mr Anderson is reported to have replied: “It’s like the band on the Titanic. Playing the same tune and ignoring the obvious.’
According to the leaked WhatsApps, the MPs attacked civil servants accused of thwarting the government’s plans.
Tom Hunt, who has been MP for Ipswich since 2019, said: “All unelected public servants who try to block a democratically elected government must either be sacked or named.
“If they want to be involved in politics and be a political actor, they have to either leave their profession and run for office or face the scrutiny that comes with it.”
“Going against the state is treason. “Certainly,” said Mr. Anderson.
Mid Derbyshire MP Pauline Latham was quoted as saying: “I thought civil servants advised and ministers decided?
“Apparently not anymore!”
She declined to comment when contacted by the PA news agency.
Wrexham MP Sarah Atherton said, according to Sky: “I thought there was a process for their dismissal. Apparently not anymore! They dispute the allegations of harassment.
South Holland and The Deepings MP Sir John Hayes, who is believed to be close to Home Secretary Suella Braverman, said: “They just need to be told! Please get it into your whips that this is the government’s most urgent priority.
“We need to support Suella in this battle with out-of-touch, privileged, unelected pen pushers.”
Mr Sunack has faced intense pressure from some Tory backbenchers to crack down on illegal migration.
Mr Anderson, who was elected in 2019 and represents the “red wall” seat of Ashield in a former Labor heartland, has been among the most vocal MPs on the issue.
In December, just weeks into Mr Sunak’s tenure, he used an article in the Mail on Sunday to make a veiled threat to quit the party if illegal immigration was not tackled.
Add Comment