Over 100 groups and campaigners gathered to sign an open letter. 

More than 100 refugee charities have signed an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for united communities and an end to “hostile politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past”.

The letter has been coordinated by campaign coalition Together With Refugees in response to the Organised Immigration Crime Summit on targeting smuggling gangs and the Prime Minister’s comments ahead of the event.  

He said: “But we all pay the price for insecure borders – from the cost of accommodating migrants to the strain on our public services. It is a basic question of fairness.”

The 136 signatories are from national, local and grass roots organisations across the UK including City of Sanctuary UK, Choose Love, Freedom from Torture, One Strong Voice, Rainbow Migration, Refugee Action, Refugee Council, Safe Passage International, Scottish Refugee Council, Welsh Refugee Council and Women for Refugee Women.

The letter states: “You told us this week that immigration ‘is a basic question of fairness’. We agree. But the searing experiences of last summer, when hate-filled mobs tried to burn down hotels hosting asylum seekers, make it clear that the path to fairness is not to be found in those pitting local communities against refugees seeking safety from persecution and war.”

It goes on: “Now is not the time to play into the hands of those seeking to build them-and-us division between local communities and refugees. It is the time to move away from the hostile politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past and unite our communities for a different way forward.”

The letter also responds to the Summit’s focus on targeting smuggling gangs. 

It states: “Rather than the border security summit’s focus on expensive new ways to disrupt people smugglers, often making the journey more dangerous for refugees, the government should be looking at safe routes for refugees to get here without risking their lives.”

Bridget Young, director of NACCOM, who signed the letter, said: “A narrow focus on targeting the smuggling gangs is expensive and will only risk more lives as people take greater risks to get here.  People fleeing war and other dangers need a legal way to apply for asylum in the UK, without ever having to take a terrifying journey across the Channel. We need a proper plan for refugees, with safe routes and meaningful support to help them integrate into their communities and contribute when they get here.”

The letter calls for a fair new plan for refugees that is compassionate and well-managed, with protection for people fleeing war and persecution by upholding the UK’s commitment under international law to the right to claim asylum.

The charities also want to see a proper strategy for welcoming refugees by ensuring fair, rapid decisions on their application for asylum, and the chance to rebuild their lives through settling in a community.  

Stronger global cooperation is also needed  to tackle the root causes that force people to flee their homes and provides positive solutions when they do, including through safe routes to refugee protection.

Tim Naor Hilton, chief executive of Refugee Action, said: “We need the Prime Minister and his government to be brave and ditch the divisive language that scapegoats migrants, including refugees and people seeking asylum.  

“Hostile policies and rhetoric risk fuelling more of the racist, Islamophobic and anti-immigrant riots that tore through our communities last summer.   

“The government must use language that focuses on unity and community resilience, and develop a new asylum system that is grounded in rights and justice.”