Church of England slams govt. over UK migrant crisis

The Church of England joins the wave of criticism of the British premier for his comments on the migrant crisis in the UK, calling his remarks devoid of human compassion.

The Church of England says David Cameron’s remarks on the plight of migrants struggling to enter the UK were devoid of human compassion.

“We’ve become an increasingly harsh world, and when we become harsh with each other and forget our humanity then we end up in these standoff positions,” said Bishop Reverend Trevor Willmott, adding, “We need to rediscover what it is to be a human, and that every human being matters.”

On Thursday, Cameron described migrants trying to reach Britain as a swarm. He also pledged to introduce measures such as using more sniffer dogs at Britain’s gateway of Calais in northern France.

Reverend Willmott also called on Cameron to tone down his rhetoric and deal with the problem in a non-hostile way.

“To put them [migrants and refugees] all together in that very unhelpful phrase just categorizes people and I think he could soften that language – and that doesn’t mean not dealing with the issue. It means dealing with the issue in a non-hostile way.”

Now writer and commentator Joseph Ochieno says the current migrant crisis is the result of the Western foreign policy around the world.

Meanwhile, the UK and France have urged other EU nations to help address the root causes of the Calais migrant crisis.

Migrants in Calais reportedly try to cross the Channel, causing delays on cross-Channel services.

According to the state-run BBC, French police have used pepper spray overnight to force back a group of migrants who had cut through fencing at the Channel Tunnel terminal in Calais. It said a crowd of people near fencing shouting: "Open the border" before being pepper-sprayed.

Cameron’s recent comments drew international and domestic criticism. Apart from the United Nations migration official, British politicians slammed the comment as indecent. The deputy mayor of Calais also described Cameron’s comments as racist.

Other campaign groups also voiced dismay about Cameron’s latest remarks.

Hundreds of migrants have tried to make it into the undersea tunnel in recent weeks in the hopes of finding a way onto a train or lorry headed for Britain. At least 10 migrants have died attempting the dangerous journey since June.

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