A Reform UK MP has been branded “idiotic” after he said illegal immigrants should be forced to live in tents on a Scottish island.
Rupert Lowe said the immigrants should be put on “a West Coast island with a limited, uncomfortable tented camp and minimal food” to encourage them “to go back to where they came from”.
He told GB News: “If people come here illegally, we need to detain them, and we need to deport them and make their life particularly uncomfortable if they do come here.
“Put them on a West Coast island with a limited, uncomfortable tented camp and minimal food, and encourage them then to go back to where they came from and apply to come back legally.
“The fact of the matter is that most of these people are, as we know, not asylum seekers, they’re economic migrants.”
Scottish Labour islands spokesperson Rhoda Grant hit back: “This idiotic comment betrays Reform’s total ignorance of our island communities.
“Had he done his homework he would know that our islands are welcoming and supportive places that have many times provided a haven to families fleeing persecution and war.
“Rupert Lowe’s caricature of Scotland’s islands just shows that he’s after headlines rather than genuinely trying to improve life for his constituents.”
Great Yarmouth MP Lowe was elected for the first time in July. He is not the first politician to claim immigrants should be sent to Scotland. He was praised by Elon Musk after the billionaire fell out with Reform leader Nigel Farage.
Scottish Lib Dem MP for Orkney and Shetland Alistair Carmichael also slammed Lowe. He said: “Rupert Lowe always finds a way to go lower. It’s no surprise given his colleague Lee Anderson previously advocated for sending people to ‘the Orkneys’.
“I would be surprised if either of them could find Orkney on a map. Scotland’s islands are home to thriving and vibrant communities. They’re not a dumping ground for the victims of his prejudice.”
Last year the then director of think tank Labour Together Josh Simons was criticised after saying migrants should be shipped to the north of Scotland. He was blasted by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. Simons was elected as an MP at the general election.
Former Tory MP Lee Anderson – who has since joined Reform – said Scottish islands would be “suitable” for asylum seekers. He said: “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.”
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