Deputy leader says archbishop should stay out of matter after Stephen Cottrell calls policy isolationist and kneejerk
Reform UK has engaged in a war of words with the Church of England over the party’s plans to deport all asylum seekers who arrive in small boats, after the church’s most senior bishop called the proposal “isolationist, short-term [and] kneejerk”.
Richard Tice, the party’s deputy leader, hit back against the archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, on Sunday, accusing him of interfering in domestic politics.
This week Nigel Farage, Reform’s leader, unveiled the party’s migration policy, under which Britain would leave the European convention on human rights (ECHR) and deport people who arrive or have recently arrived by small boat from France.
Cottrell told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips: “We should actively resist the kind of isolationist, short-term, kneejerk – in this case, ‘send them home’. Mr Farage is saying the things he’s saying but he is not offering any long-term solution to the big issues which are convulsing our world, which lead to this.”
