MP blames 'go home illegal immigrant' advertising vans for racist attack on mosque

A Labour MP has blasted the Government's "go home" vans, blaming them for a racist attack on a mosque.

Andy Sawford said he was "appalled" to see that the mosque in his Corby constituency had been targeted shortly after the Home Office's controversial vans were sent to the Northamptonshire area.

The scheme has also seen the advertising vans drive through London with the message calling on illegal immigrants "to leave or face arrest".

Mr Sawford said during an urgent question on border controls: "When I visited a week after the Home Office's racist go home vans had been touring in the town - the mosque in Corby - I was appalled to find the words in very large letters 'go home' outside the mosque."

He suggested that the culprits were motivated by the vehicles.

"That act was the act of a tiny minority of the people in my community spurred on by this Government's racist attack on the people of this country," he said.

Immigration Minister Mark Harper disagreed with Mr Sawford's description of the vans.

"I simply don't agree with you and, actually, if the polling is to be believed neither do the British people," said Mr Harper.

"Most people in this country do not agree with the characterisation of our pilot: asking people who have no rights to be in the country - it was aimed at people who have no right to be here, not British citizens, not people who are here lawfully - very clearly aimed at people here illegally asking them to leave the country."

Mr Harper was referring to recent surveys which indicate that the majority of the public do not regard the signs on vans as racist. One YouGov poll showed that 66 per cent of the public "tend to" or "strongly" disagree that the advertising is racist.

Pointing out that the scheme has not yet been launched on a national level, Mr Harper added: "We're running a pilot.

"We will look at the results of the pilot to decide if it will be rolled out or not. And I simply don't agree with you and I don't think the British public do either."