The former head of the British army has joined Gary Lineker and the actor Brian Cox among the celebrities and high-profile public figures who have signed a letter calling for the UK government to scrap its Rwanda scheme.
The Match of the Day presenter and the Succession star put their names to the call for political leaders to come up with a “fair new plan for refugees”.
They said Britain’s refugee system was “ever-more uncaring, chaotic and costly”, and that asylum policies were not working.
Another signatory, the former head of the British army, Richard Dannatt, said the “dogged pursuit of the unpopular plan to send people seeking protection to Rwanda is astonishing” and described a “failure to fully support Afghans fleeing the Taliban” as shameful.
Lineker, who has been outspoken on the the government’s attitude to refugees, said: “We need a new system that reflects the will of the British people who have opened their homes, donated and volunteered in their local communities.
“That’s why I’m backing this new campaign, because fair really can begin here.”
Cox, 77, said: “The UK’s asylum system is in a shambles, not least with the government’s continued attempts to push through the awful scheme to send people to Rwanda.”
The actor, who won a Golden Globe award for his role as the media tycoon Logan Roy in Succession, added: “We need a total rethink. Political leaders must create a system that is not just properly managed but is fair and has compassion at its heart.”
The letter, also signed by the women’s rights campaigner Helen Pankhurst, the Hotel Rwanda star Sophie Okonedo and the television chef Big Zuu, who is the son of a refugee from Sierra Leone, comes in the week MPs will debate and vote on the Rwanda asylum bill.
The government hopes to rush emergency legislation through parliament declaring Rwanda a safe destination for asylum seekers, after the supreme court ruled against the scheme last month.
Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said Lineker, who was suspended briefly by the BBC in April for criticising the government’s rhetoric over immigration, should not have signed the letter.
“No,” he told Times Radio. “He’s been through all of this before. The BBC have told him he shouldn’t do this type of thing but still it continues.
“I just fundamentally disagree with him. What happens to him next is up to the BBC. As far as I see it, they have issued previous warnings to him, so it’ll be interesting to see what they do and say at this point.
“I know millions of people watch him for his football commentary and TV presenting, I would have thought it’s better to stick with that.”
The letter, coordinated by the campaign coalition Together With Refugees, stated: “Our government is still trying to banish people fleeing persecution to Rwanda despite the highest court in the land ruling the scheme unlawful.
“These policies aren’t working for refugees and they aren’t working for local communities.
“That’s why we have come together to say we’ve had enough. Enough of the division. Enough of the short-term thinking. Enough of the wasted human potential. And it’s why we now call for something better.”
