Tory deputy chair Lee Anderson has doubled down on his newfound affinity with Orkney, as he claimed he would move to the remote Scottish islands if the UK ever voted to reverse Brexit.
The controversial MP – who previously told asylum-seekers to “f*** off back to France” – was accused of showing “disdain” and “inhumanity” after he suggested that migrants should be sent to Orkney if the government fails to resurrect its Rwanda plan.
“I know it’s a bit parky up there this time of year. But if people are genuinely escaping war or persecution then a nice Scottish island with a few outbuildings would be suitable,” Mr Ashfield told GB News last week.
“If we can find an island in the Orkneys or up there that’s got no-one on there to start off with, put some decent accommodation on, then it’s job done,” the Nottinghamshire MP said, adding that “parts of Scotland are a ‘go to’ destination and he would “like to be able to afford a place up there” himself.
His remarks were condemed by Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael as “an exercise in corralling as many prejudices as possible into one space and calling it a policy”, while the Scottish Greens hit back that “our islands are not empty wildernesses” but “thriving communities” which have welcomed refugees.
Confronted with Mr Carmichael’s criticisms on GB News on Thursday, Mr Anderson said his father had been stationed on Orkney while in the military, and claimed “people like” Mr Carmichael did not want people seeking asylum “in their back yard” despite “bleating on” about accepting more refugees.
The Tory MP was then faced with remarks by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen that younger generations should seek to “fix” the mistake of Brexit.
Jarring with the conciliatory moves made by Rishi Sunak in his relationship with the German EU chief, the Tory deputy chair said it was the generation which fought the Nazis who had “fixed the problems in Europe”, adding: “She needs to shut up.”
Asked if he believed the UK will rejoin the EU in his lifetime, he said: “I hope not because if we do I’m moving to Orkney isles.”
Put to him that Mr Carmichael may object, the Tory MP said: “Well that’ll teach him, won’t it … I’m going to live in the Orkney Isles and stand for parliament in the Orkney Isles.”
