Lee Anderson has offering a scathing verdict after it was revealed a Palestinian family was granted the right to stay in the UK via a scheme meant for Ukraine refugees.
The Reform UK MP was backed by Richard Tice, his party’s deputy leader, and fellow parliamentarian Rupert Lowe in condemning the ruling by upper tribunal judges last month to let them stay. In doing so, they overruled last year’s Home Office decision that the family did not meet the scheme’s requirements.
The Home Office was understood to have set out a “floodgates” argument in which it said an obligation to admit the family risked the same outcome applying to those in other conflicts around the world.
The family of six, including children aged 18,17, eight and seven, and who have been granted anonymity – were left homeless when their house in Gaza was destroyed by an airstrike during the Israel-Hamas war.
They applied to enter the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme to join the father’s brother, a British citizen who has lived in Britain since 2007 – but the Government rejected their application.
Their case was initially dismissed by a first-tier immigration tribunal judge in September.
Richard Tice was also unimpressed (Image: Getty)
However, after a hearing in January, judges in the higher court ruled in their favour, citing Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights protecting the right to family life.
Ashfield MP Mr Anderson was deeply sceptical, telling Express.co.uk: “Homes for Hamas? What a good idea.” There is no actual suggestion that the family in connection has any links to Hamas.
Mr Tice, the MP for Boston and Skegness, was similarly unimpressed.
He said: “Once again we have another crazy judge ruling that just further proves that large parts of the British judiciary has been taken over by activists who work against the best interests of the British people.
“We must not accept Gazans into the UK. Other Arab nations will not accept them, and nor should we.
“It’s time to put British people first.”
Great Yarmouth MP Mr Lowe, posting on X, said: “Not a single Palestinian ‘refugee’ should be allowed to settle in the UK – this is total bloody madness.We need to draw a VERY deep line in the sand.
“Who are the courts supposed to be serving and protecting?
Reform UK MP for Great Yarmouth Rupert Lowe (Image: Getty)
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch also waded in on social media, saying: “We cannot have judges simply making up new schemes based on novel and expansive interpretations of human rights law.
“It is clearer than ever that radical changes to human rights laws are needed – so Parliament, and not Judges, make decisions about eligibility to come to the UK.”
A Home Office spokesman told the Telegraph the case had been contested “rigorously” and insisted: “The latter court ruled against us on the narrow facts of this specific case.
“Nevertheless, we are clear that there is no resettlement route from Gaza, and we will continue to contest any future claims that do not meet our rules.”
