Carmichael slams Tory MP for claiming asylum seekers should be sent to remote islands

Alistair Carmichael MP.

MP Alistair Carmichael has accused a top Conservative MP of inhumanity and disdain for both asylum seekers and island communities.

Lee Anderson, who is the deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, suggested on GB News that asylum seekers should be sent to “remote” Scottish islands while they wait for their applications to be processed.

Suggesting “the Orkneys” as one place they could be sent, Mr Anderson said: “These people want to be safe, they’re fleeing so-called persecution from these war-torn countries.

“If we can put them on a nice, safe island in the North of Scotland, job done.”

Mr Anderson said there were islands in the north of Scotland “that’s got no-one on there to start off with”.

Liberal Democrat MP Mr Carmichael accused Mr Anderson of making up Tory policy on the spot.

“This is not a serious proposition. I would be astonished if Lee Anderson could even find Orkney – or in his words “the Orkneys” – on a map. 

“[Mr] Anderson has form for brainstorming Tory policy live on air.

“Obviously, this is a novel sort of brainstorming as it does not actually involve the engagement of a brain but instead looks more like an exercise in corralling as many prejudices as possible into one space and calling it a policy.”

Mr Carmichael said if Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could not bring Mr Anderson into line, then the only conclusion was that he agreed with his attitudes and comments.

Mr Anderson also said on GB News, in response to questions about whether asylum seekers could be sent to the Falkland Islands: “I don’t think it’s fair on the Falkland Islands to be honest, they don’t want these illegal migrants going down there.”