Rupert Lowe has accused Labour of “gaslighting” MPs by keeping both them and the public in the dark about the number of illegal currently held in UK prisons.
Mr Lowe, Reform UK’s MP for Great Yarmouth, who has frequently voiced his concerns about immigration over the years, called for Labour to release the figures as he insisted “good government is transparent government”.
He told : “In my world, he who pays the piper calls the tune. I think it’s very important that we get honest, accurate data.
Lowe directed specific criticism at MP and Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum Angela Eagle, claiming she avoided answering direct questions on the issue in Parliament.
He said: “Interestingly, when Angela Eagle answered that question, she didn’t deny that they had the data, but she said there’s going to be a big data dump later this week.
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Rupert Lowe wants answers about the number of illegal migrants in UK prisons (Image: GETTY)
“We think it’s Thursday, and I just hope she’s not gaslighting everyone and going to dump the ONS data, which comes out quarterly anyway. But we can look at that on Thursday.”
Mr Lowe continued: “This question was specifically about crimes committed by illegal migrants, which everybody says they’re asylum seekers. In my opinion, they’re not, they’re economic migrants.
“And lot of these guys are fighting age, young men arriving on the boats, throwing their passports into the sea.
“Often they’re lying about their age, which in itself brings questions about schools they go to and sort of threats to the decent tax-paying Brits.
“We’re a very decent nation, we’ve had a long history of trying to do the right thing and I think we continue to do that.
Home Office minister Angela Eagle (Image: Getty)
”But I do think it’s so important that if the foundations of our society are to be protected, we must get accurate data on this.
Mr Lowe cited his own estimates, claiming that there are “10,500 foreign criminals in our prisons,” and criticised the practice of releasing British prisoners early to make room for them.
He said: “Personally, I would just deport them. If people come here, commit crimes, and go to prison, they should be sent home.
“And the worrying thing is, in answer to some of our questions, we’re finding out that those are regular repeat offenders.
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A boat filled with migrants crosses the English Channel (Image: Getty)
Pressing for answers, Mr Lowe also underscored the importance of transparency in maintaining a healthy society.
He stressed: “We want honest data so people can make up their own mind.
“The British public deserve transparent, honest data,” he added, warning that withholding such information would simply fuel mistrust and insecurity.”
He added: “As I go along, I’m hoping that [data] not being withheld from us. And there is certainly a degree of a lack of coordination within government.
Rupert Lowe is the Reform UK MP for Great Yarmouth (Image: Getty)
“But if you notice Angela Eagle, and she didn’t say that she was going to give us new data. But if she’s gaslighting us, when we get that data, we’re going to be able to call her out.
“Equally, she didn’t deny they had the data, I said in my question, because I think they have got the data.
“I think they do collect the data, and I think they don’t want to release this data.”
Express.co.uk has contacted the Home Office, and Ms Eagle via her Parliamentary office, for comment.