A furious row broke out on GB News over refugee charity Care4Calais’ ploy to give smartphones to refugees.
The group have a page on their website calling on users to donate £50 to buy smartphones for refugees.
The ploy sparked debate on GB News as Daily Express columnist Carole Malone criticised the group that look to deliver emergency aid to migrants making perilous trips across the country seeking to gain refuge in Britain.
Political commentator Benjamin Butterworth, however, defended the group, saying owning a phone is a “human right” as he rallied against the panel.
The pair clashed on GB News
GB NEWS
“Security experts believes these phones will be used for illegal activity and will encourage more to come over here”, said Malone.
“So we should be taking notice. Care4Calais have been actively undermining this Government’s efforts to tackle illegal migration for some time.
“They have played a key role in stopping the deportation of people who have gone on to hurt people.
“This is not a charity’s job. Let’s not forget that last year, the Charity Commission brought out a report that produced evidence of inappropriate payments and misconduct.
“This is not just a charity, this is a bunch of politically motivated activists masquerading as humanitarians. They’re people with an anarchist ideology and a hatred of all laws. They don’t want any borders so they’re facilitating people to come here.”
Butterworth responded by arguing that people have had to flee from their homeland and parents in order to make a desperate trip across the Channel.
Care 4 Calais workers are often on hand to help refugees who have made the trip across the Channel
PA
“That is incredibly traumatising”, he added, before being interrupted by a furious Malone.
“If you’re going to be disrespectful, I won’t bother talking”, he continued.
Aman Bhogal from Global Britain UK responded by branding Butterworth’s claims “nonsense”, demanding he be “serious” about the matter.
Butterworth commented: “These people have left families and loved ones. You can only imagine the horror.
A Care 4 Calais ploy has sparked furore
PA
“I think it is deeply inhumane to oppose them having something that could mean they have contact with their parents or their kids on the other side of the world.
“That’s what a mobile phone means in this day and age. It’s the 21st century.
“A smartphone is a human right, access to the internet is a human right because you can’t function with that without a smartphone.”
Carole Malone argued that migrants will often “dump” smartphones into the Channel in order to avoid the prospect of being identified, a claim Butterworth denied.
