​Controversial Sun columnist unwittingly causes flood of donations to help migrant charities

A JustGiving page created on the back of offensive comments by controversial Sun columnist Katie Hopkins has raised over £30,000 of donations.

The page was set up after Hopkins said gunships should be used to stop migrants in her weekly column – two days after the capsizing of a boat and the death of 800 migrants.

On the back of her comments 22-year-old Izzy Saunders started an online petition calling for her sacking from The Sun as well as the fundraising page.

The Change petition has gathered nearly 270,000 signatures, saying The Sun should not “encourage these poisonous opinions”, and is asking editor David Dinsmore to remove Hopkins as a columnist.

She wrote: “The majority of migrants who make this crossing are from war-torn Syria which they flee for their own safety, or Eritrea which they leave to avoid extreme oppression and human rights violations. These people, who can pay sums of £10,000 and sometimes more to make this desperate journey, were called cockroaches by Katie Hopkins. Inexplicably, she described them as "feral humans" despite her own flagrant lack of humanity.

“Katie claims she "doesn't care if migrants die" which is an opinion she is entitled to, despite it being a sad and selfish one. I am not attacking her right to an opinion, however I do not believe The Sun newspaper should encourage these poisonous opinions.”

The money raised will go to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) which recently announced that they will launch a joint search, rescue and medical aid operation in the Mediterranean.

It has so far received 1,656 donations.