A poster mocking the age of child refugees arriving from Calais has sparked fury after it was put up on a wall in Parliament.
The image of an elderly man wearing a headscarf with the caption ‘Just £3 from you could clothe and feed this 12yr old Syrian child for a week’ was reportedly displayed above a sink in a kitchen shared by around 15 MPs and their staff.
Labour’s shadow minister for Industrial Strategy, Chi Onwurah, posted the picture on Twitter - describing it as “not acceptable”.
It comes amid a fierce row across the country over allegations that the child refugees arriving in the UK from Calais’ jungle camp are actually a lot older than they claim.
The Home Office has faced mounting pressure to carry out more rigorous checks on the refugees – such as dental tests – from people including Conservative MP David Davies.
Meanwhile, BBC presenter Gary Lineker was vilified online and in the press for describing the furore over the refugees’ ages as “absolutely disgraceful”.
Ms Onwurah, MP for Newcastle Central, said her researcher spotted the poster sellotaped to the wall after going to make a cup of tea.
She told Buzzfeed news: “Parliament should be a safe working environment for everyone.”
“I’ve just come from a summit in Newcastle on safety and security with different communities and hate crime is increasing. Partly it’s the legitimisation of xenophobic discourse, making it legitimate to say things that you wouldn’t have done pre-Brexit.”
“I share a corridor with a dozen other MPs and their staff but anyone with a full parliamentary pass has access there.”
She added: “Legitimising and supporting this kind of language makes life harder for vulnerable people and refugees.
“It shouldn’t be anywhere and it certainly shouldn’t be in parliament.”
