Jeremy Corbyn has backed Gary Lineker and said he was "right" to criticise the Government's Illegal Migration Bill.
The former Labour leader was attending an anti-racism demonstration organised partly in response to the Government's new bill.
The marches, organised by Stand Up To Racism and the STUC, were held in London, Glasgow and Cardiff on Saturday afternoon (March 18).
Organisers said thousands of people took part in the action against racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, fascism and the far right.
Whitehall completely packed with antiracist protestors #RefugeeBanBill #RefugeesWelcome #ResistRacism with @The_TUC pic.twitter.com/MG7v9q4ADi
— Stand Up To Racism (@AntiRacismDay) March 18, 2023
What did Jeremy Corbyn have to say?
Speaking to a crowd of protesters on stage outside Downing Street Mr Corbyn said: “The refugees of today are the doctors, the nurses, the engineers, and our neighbours of tomorrow.
“The racism that surrounds the language around refugees is disgusting and a disgrace.
“Gary Lineker was right when he pointed out that it was that language in the 1920s in Germany that gave rise to massive antisemitism which ended in the horrors of the 1940s.”
Speaking about the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill, Mr Corbyn added: “This Bill is directed against those people who have come to our shores out of desperation.
“It’s not a solution to incarcerate them in this country, it’s not a solution to send them to Rwanda.”
What exactly is being protested about?
On a march to Downing Street, protesters, many of whom were carrying signs reading “no human being is illegal” and bearing trade union logos, said the demonstration is partly a response to the Government’s “inhuman” Illegal Migration Bill.
The controversial legislation introduced by Home Secretary Suella Braverman last week states that refugees who arrive in the UK through unauthorised means, such as crossing the English Channel in a boat, will have their asylum claims deemed inadmissible.
Ms Braverman is on a trip to Rwanda this weekend to reaffirm her commitment to the Government’s policy to deport migrants to the African state.
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