It was an act of mean-spiritedness that shocked people across the political spectrum. In April, a UK government minister ordered a mural of cartoon characters at a reception centre for migrants to be painted over lest children mistook it as a sign of welcome.
But out of adversity has come joy. In response, leading cartoonists have created an uplifting Welcome to Britain colouring book to be given to children arriving in the UK.
The drawings reflect quintessential aspects of British culture, including the Loch Ness monster, London buses, seaside donkeys, the royal family, cake and lots of animals, including some playing football.
The 62-page book has been created by the Professional Cartoonists Organisation (PCO) and will be distributed to children newly arrived in the UK via refugee charities and support groups.
Contributors include Quentin Blake, Ralph Steadman, Chris Riddell, Ros Asquith, Nicola Jennings and Terry Gilliam. Their drawings reflect regional themes (Highland cows and Welsh dragons, for example) as well as UK-wide hallmarks such as breakfast fry-ups and wet weather.
The idea for the colouring book came out of anger and dismay at the instruction by Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, to paint over a cartoon mural at a reception centre in Kent.
It later emerged that a child-friendly mural at a separate detention camp had also been painted over at a cost of £1,549.52.
Guy Venables, a cartoonist and member of the PCO, said his response was “one of pure rage, white anger”.
He and other cartoonists discussed “a well-aimed, calm but wholly positive response”. The idea of a colouring book introducing British culture to newly arrived children was perfect, he said, and requests went out to the nation’s cartoonists.
“Nobody, not a single cartoonist we contacted, declined. Early on, Ralph Steadman said yes to drawing a page – him being with us was an indicator that this ball was definitely rolling. Secretly some of us just wanted to be published in the same book as him.”
As the list grew, “the more we realised what a rich and eclectic cultural stratum we had in cartoonists in this country. We were playing the cartoonist’s version of Desert Island Discs.
“Alex Collier, one of the Viz stalwarts, took it on himself to engage the cartoonists from the Beano as he also works for them. From there we got requests to join in from the Phoenix. From us reaching out, networks upon networks were reaching back in.”
38 Degrees, a community campaign organisation with a million supporters, offered to raise funds and organise printing and distribution.
Matthew McGregor, its chief executive, said: “So many of us felt angry, heartbroken and helpless at the cruel news of the mural being painted over. We wanted to use our collective power to counter this with something positive.”
Supporters were told that £3 was needed to fund each book plus colouring pencils. More than enough money for an initial run of 1,000 books was raised overnight.
“The British public who chipped in to fund the colouring book are sending a clear message to the government: give children arriving in this country, having fled war and persecution the warm welcome to Britain they deserve,” said McGregor.
There are plans for a second book to go on sale to the public, with proceeds going to charity. It will incorporate the first book’s drawings, plus extra ones (“Chris Ridell sent in five,” said Venables) and new work from other cartoonists and illustrators.
The size of the initial print-run was based on a guess, said Venables. “We don’t really know how many migrant kids are out there – no one knows. We’re finding new places every day – hotels here and there housing kids.”
Each child will be handed “something very normal, a colouring book. Just a book. Maybe one day they will discover that they had the attention of a whole nation’s cartoonists who stood in solidarity on their side, who were inspired to collectively shine a light into the dark and show them that somebody cared.
“A small thing, perhaps. But small things can be the acorns of big differences. For something initially so negative to be convincingly ricocheted into the positive by such a groundswell of support has cemented the idea that there really is good in most people.”
