“Are You For REAL Steve?” | Ian Collins FURIOUS Clash With Care4Calais Boss

let's speak to Steve Smith on this very point now he is the CEO of care for Kelly Steve good afternoon to you Hi Ian um just shine some light onto this one if you can you will be aware that the big headline that has run away all morning has been the severe fear of water um I mean that is a line I think that surprised many of us given that this is a fairly you know stationary sturdy barge essentially it's a a sort of a floating hotel but you don't sense you're floating on it I mean is that is that a real thing this severe fear of water I think concentrating on the severe fear of water and treating it globally like that trivializes the argument I mean as a charity uh that supports refugees we are concerned about the use of that barge as a whole so we're originally concerned about the fact that it was built for 220 people and there's an intention to put 506 on board you can say all you like about well they're gymnasiums and quiet rooms and so on but actually some of those communal spaces have been taken up to put six beds in so the communal spaces that were there for only 220 have now been minimized even further when trying to put more than double that number on board we have severe concerns still about the fire safety we've seen the aerial photographs of it the um the long one of the long sides of the barters alongside the key so that's where the fire exits will be there are three stories what happens if you're over the far side of that boat and a fire breaks out and in the panic in the rush with more than twice the number of people that should be on board untrained probably unfire drilled trying to make their way to the key side through smoke-filled corridors it's a nightmare waiting to happen I've heard but that can happen in all sorts of accommodation isn't it where you need buildings and accommodation do their best to you know to try and have a situation where people could Escape somewhere with safety but there's always going to be a situation where somebody might struggle but broadly speaking this has been given the green light as a accommodation so we're told but I understand the fire brigades Union are still um are still opposed to it in terms of safety so it's probably a pretty limited green light um in any case uh so as a whole we're opposed to it we believe it's going to be overcrowded we believe it um it forms a very similar um it gives the impression of being a Detention Facility effectively now we can say well the design Seekers are free to come and go yes they kind of are and kind of not so they're in a secure port they can only go via buses that leave on the hour every hour up until 11 o'clock at night so they have to use the designated transport because of the security within the port they have to go through two airport style security checkpoints going out and in we've seen how confined the spaces are to all intents and purposes to many of those who've previously been detained and in some aspects tortured in some cases tortured this resembles a detention State Steve the I mean some of these people will be here illegally and you're worried about the bus route I'm not worried about the bus routes I'm worried about the fact that this resembles did you just mention the bus routes I mean I mean it may well be a form of detention until people are processed but you can come and go you can come and go using the buses yes that's true that's the only way you can come and go so given right well what do most people how do most residents in an area come and go they use public transit unless you suggested we give everybody a car or something I don't be absurd most residents who are living in a city or a town or a village a hotel can walk out of the doors and walk around in in the open air what they can't do on this bar just easily do that because they're in a secure area so you can walk out and get some open I mean what are you what are you suggesting here I mean I mean to many people they'll be scratching their heads Steve on this thinking what is this man talking about what I'm suggesting is this is an inappropriate way to House people who in many cases have been subject to detention and torture it's clear well you I mean just on that point and we raise this at the very beginning I think many of us have a question over the idea that somebody has escaped a tyrannical regime a brutal regime where torture uh routine imprisonment or manner of other horrendous acts and criminality carried out against individuals barbarity from government and all of that and you escape that you flee that you get away from that who wouldn't want to And yet when you get to a safe country I.E the UK you complain about the bus routes are you for real Steve who's complaining about the bus routes nobody's complaining you were just complaining about the bus routes you you completely misquoted me what I was talking about with the buses I was saying that the only way in and out is by a bus so they don't have the freedom to walk around just leave the barge what I'm saying is that this is resembling a Detention Facility which could re-traumatize those who have previously been detained I mean these are as you well know these are largely economic migrants and I don't I don't say that as a pejorative I don't think they're criminals I don't think they're here to scrounge I get all of that what do you mean the large economic migrants what are you basing that on you you've never done this level of research you've never looked into the stories you've never been there to Cali spoken to the people read the stories seen the interviews I mean I don't blame somebody for wanting to get here but to arrive and then mount a legal case against your accommodation is breathtaking Steve and people like yourself and other lawyers are a Mischief behind it right you're you're starting point is a political one isn't it absolutely not my starting point is one of humanitarian uh humanitarian approach to a difficult situation and trying to offer kindness to people who are in the worst which is what I agree so we are offering kindness we have 170 000 cases of places where we have we are accommodating people I would agree with you 100 on the inadequacies of our own government and their lack of being able to process these people but the fact that we accommodate people we allow them a small amount of money it's not great I know that but you've got accommodation you've got safety you've got warmth that's about as civilizers it gets and every time something happens somebody like you and others come along and say not good enough what the hell do you want a palace we've got a hundred and seventy thousand backlog 10 years ago civil servants 380 civil servants were able to process on average 14 claims a month now we've got three times that number we've got 1200 civil servants processing four claims on average per month the entire system is broken correct no disagreement on that but the idea that you're agitating over a barge now this is a the whole balance business is a knee-jet reaction you're talking at most of putting 506 people on board as I said before that's double the number that was intended for but in any case we know there are at least 50 000 hotels around the country locked into the Asylum system this is a drop in the ocean so amongst other things this is really a propaganda stunt and no I I get listen I don't dispute that this is the government saying look we're doing something a bit different but that doesn't in any way negate the point that this is still safe accommodation it's clean it's tidy you have a bed you have a little desk you have a shower you have facilities you can be fed it's not the 4C reasons I know that but nonetheless it's a civilized response to a problem right there's a lot of places around the world where you wouldn't get anything like that and frankly Steve if you or I had escaped this tyrannical regime of torture and goodness knows what then I'd be happy to sleep up a tree frankly wouldn't you it's an interesting point but it's intended as a deterrent effect it's not intended to be some sort of uh long stay accommodation a government does have multiple responsibilities they a deterrent effect is not a that's not a bad thing for a government they're meant to have a deterrent effect sure so who's a deterrent effect for people who shouldn't be here is it a deterrent effect for the Afghan thought Colonel who served alongside British forces in Afghanistan and has now got a letter to evict him to to put him to you'll get you'll get no argument from me on that I agree with you and if somebody is coming along in their small child and they've escaped Syria and their their child and the the mother are traumatized then like we have done in previous years over many many issues and stories we should open our door and help those people but you know as well as I do Steve stand on the port of Dover and see 40 fighting fit 23 year olds come in off the boat that isn't the story we're seeing right well 75 percent of the claims that are put into for Asylum to become a recognized Refugee are accepted I don't dispute the inadequacies in that part of the system and that's across the board so 75 that are coming in are deemed to be true Asylum Seekers not economic migrants well isn't that because organizations like yourself Advance the case and the causes and build the arguments for these people listen Steve I I have to stop there for no other reason than time we could speak a lot longer and I'm sure we will do again or maybe you'll never come on again I don't know Steve Smith is the CEO of care for Cali

Channel: TalkTV

Views: 151,933

Keywords: debate, free speech, freedom of expression, live, live news, news, politics, talk radio, talk radio live, talk radio tv, talk tv, talk tv live, talkTV, talkradio, talkradio tv, talkradiotv, talktv live, uk, mike graham, channel, channel migrants, migrants, channel migrant, migrant, migration, france, albania, immigrant, immigration, border force, channel immigrations, small boats, channel crossings, small boat crossings, boat crossings, boat, dover, ian collins, ian, collins, care4calais

Id: rj08nBcUl30

Length: 9min 55sec (595 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 08 2023