Lee Anderson says Calais refugee charities ‘just as bad as people smugglers’

Campaigners deny Tory deputy chair’s claim they ‘encourage’ people to make crossing

Conservative Party deputy chair Lee Anderson has claimed that Calais refugee charities are “just as bad as people smugglers”.

The outspoken MP for Ashfield accused the organisations of “fuelling” migrants’ desire to cross the English Channel in small boats.

“You’ve got the people smugglers, you’ve got the camps, the charities at the camps,” Mr Anderson told The Sunday Telegraph.