Time now though to speak to the
Conservatives. I'm joined this morning
by shadow home office minister and
deputy chairman of the Conservative
Party, Matt Vickers. Very good morning
to you. Thanks for talking to us.
Morning.
>> Let's start, shall we, with the issue of
the court of appeal ruling later on
today regarding the Bell Hotel and
whether or not asylum seekers should be
asked to move out. um you want uh the
hotel to be closed, but in that
instance, what do you think should
happen to the asylum seekers?
>> Well, we've heard about the allegations
of what went on there. Those protesters
are right. They're concerned about their
communities. They're right to stand up
for this and make some noise. The
councilors uh the conservative councils
in that part of the world who were on
their side, who took this forwards to
the court and got that injunction were
entirely right to do so. The reality is
that the last government was reducing
the number of people in hotels. It fell
by nearly 47%. They were looking at
disused army barracks. They were looking
at things like the BB Stockholm, looking
at alternatives to these hotels and it
reduced by 47%. The number is now going
up. It can't go on. We've got to find
alternative accommodation for these
people. But the reality is we need to
start sending them back. If you come to
this country illegally, you cannot be
allowed to stay. These people will
continue to arrive in everinccreasing
numbers as long as that message is sent
to them. We've got to start sending
people back. the number will come down.
H and the reality is that the government
has even said that they think that the
rights of these illegal immigrants of
these people who broke into the country
should trump those law abiding residents
in Eping. We can't go on like this. It's
not acceptable.
>> You say that numbers were coming down
being of asylum seekers being housed in
hotels under the Conservatives, but it
was the Tories that introduced the
policy of putting asylum seekers in
hotels. And at their peak there were
many more housed that way under the
tries than there are now. I mean
presumably that was because there
weren't any alternatives then. So so
what about now? What are the
alternatives right now? I mean you say
you were looking at the baby Stockholm
and instances like that. But right now
where would the asylum seekers go in a
few weeks time should the Bell Hotel
stay closed?
>> Numbers were coming down. They had come
down by 47%. But they peaked under the
tries, didn't they?
>> Yeah. But they'd reduced the number of
people staying in hotels. If that
strategy had been maintained, if this
government had carried on in the ilk of
the last government, we wouldn't have
any of these hotels now, these people
would all be put in alternative
accommodation. But more importantly, if
the government had not on day one
cancelled the deterrent, then people,
you know, the number of people arriving
in the country. The one thing that
Stalmar has done, I mean, we shouldn't
be surprised in opposition. Stalama
voted against every single measure
brought forward to toughen up our
immigration system. Kama campaigned
against the deportation of foreign
criminals. Since he's come into office,
he's changed the law. It's now, as a
result of this government's actions,
it's now possible for somebody who comes
here illegally to become a British
citizen. What message does that send to
people who are considering coming to
this country? The reality is until we
start removing people, sending them to
wherever they came from and are not
allowing them to stay, this problem will
continue. We've got a deportation Can I
can I just ask you once more? What
should happen to those asylum seekers
who are currently in the Bell Hotel? If
that hotel were to close, where would
you like to see them go?
>> We should continue to do what the
previous government were doing when they
brought
>> the immediate issue in a few weeks time
should the hotel in army barracks uh
disused army barracks in things like the
BB Stockholm. Uh Kier said we should be
looking at camps. We should be looking
at camps today. We should be finding
that alternative accommodation and
getting these people out of town center.
That town center accommodation, as we've
seen in Eping, has got people terrified.
They've heard about what's allegedly
gone on there. People scared for women
and children making their own way around
their local communities. They're scared
for the pressure on local health
services, on all of those public
services, on local taxpayers, and more
importantly also on the local economy. I
went to Alteringham where a 300 place
hotel has been taken out of circulation
to house illegal migrants. The end
result is that 300 people who would
normally have turned up there as
tourists, spent money in local pubs, in
local restaurants and local shops are no
longer there. This is impacting on every
part of those local communities. It
can't be allowed to go on. These people
firstly need putting in alternative
accommodation like camps. But more
importantly, we need to start deporting
them. We need to send a clear message
that if you come to Britain, if you
break into this country, you won't be
allowed to stay. I want to ask you uh
about another issue and the announcement
by the government today that they're
rolling out a chickenpox vaccination
program next year for uh children at 12
months and then 18 months. Um do you
welcome it?
>> We would welcome vaccinations. We
welcome greater access to vaccinations,
but one of the problems is our GPS are a
huge part of our NHS. They're incredibly
important, but we're placing greater
burdens and pressure on them. We need to
look again. The last government brought
out pharmacy first, which meant that we
could alleviate some of that pressure on
GPS so they could continue to do the
great work they do. So, of course, we're
delighted to see greater access to these
vaccines, but we do need the government
to start looking at the pressure they're
placing on GPS across this country so
that they can continue to do the great
work that they do.
>> And the jab is going to be combined with
the MMR vaccine, but that is uh seeing
its lowest level of uptake for 15 years.
Um, it's a big challenge, isn't it, to
to for the NHS to encourage people to go
out and get their children vaccinated in
higher numbers. How would you go about
it?
>> I think we need to continue to educate
people, give them the information about
what these vaccines can do uh in terms
of benefiting their children's lives.
Uh, we need to give greater access. It's
right to do it and get out there into
communities so people can get at it as
easily as possible. Uh, and you know, we
welcome that as a move as a move
forwards. and and there's been a rise in
vaccine hesitancy since the COVID
pandemic. Why do you think that is?
>> Well, of course, the vaccine uh there
was there's been lots of conspiracy
theories, lots of debate online, on
Twitter, lots of misinformation actually
about the consequences. We need to look
at every anything that might go wrong
with the vaccine properly. But the
reality is the UK has a very very robust
testing system. Uh the MH is probably
one of the most robust systems in the
world for checking any consequences or
side effects that these vaccinations can
have. Uh we need to make sure that
people are convinced of the safety of
them, roll them out and get people the
vaccinations that can make their lives
better and protect the children from
some of these horrific issues.
>> Matt Vicus, we appreciate your time this
morning. Thanks very much indeed.