News

James O’Brien tears into Priti Patel for going to Poland to ‘pretend’ that she cares about refugees

Priti Patel has travelled to Medyka in eastern Poland to meet Ukrainians seeking to flee war.

The home secretary travelled to the Polish border with Ukraine to launch the Ukraine family scheme, allowing Britons and those settled in the UK to bring their relatives over to join them.

Ahead of the visit she said: “The British Government will do everything it can to support the Ukrainian people at this critical moment as they fight for freedom.

“I have developed the Ukraine family scheme following discussions with the Ukrainian Government and neighbouring countries and I am proud to have launched it within a matter of days, enabling Ukrainians with family in the United Kingdom to be welcomed safely, quickly and free of charge.

“The United Kingdom stands to shoulder with Ukrainians, providing humanitarian practical support.”

But her words were roundly criticised by LBC presenter James O’Brien, who said she was only “pretending” to care about refugees in a blistering monologue.

He said: “It should make you puke, frankly, shouldn’t it?

“In an honest universe.

“But things can’t be that bad, at least they’re not knighting Gavin Williamson.”

Related: Elevenses: War and Tweets

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Published by