Government rhetoric on migration is increasingly “feeding” the far right, according to new analysis detailing for the first time the growing symbiotic relationship between senior Tories and the extreme rightwing.
An investigation shows that government statements and policy announcements on the issue are effectively “incubating” the far right on Telegram, the social media app where many rightwing extremists have congregated.
Analysis by the anti-fascist group Hope not Hate of 660,000 Telegram messages sent between January 2021 and March 2023 reveal significant spikes in anti-migrant hostility in the aftermath of 164 government and ministerial interventions on the issue.
During this period – when the government has become markedly more hostile towards migrants, particularly those arriving on small boats – the volume of far-right Telegram messages on the issue increased from 761 a day in 2021 to an average of 1,136 during the first months of this year.
Evidence of this activity comes before expected record net migration numbers this week of at least 700,000 during 2022, heightening cabinet tensions and scrutiny on the government’s repeated attacks on the comparatively modest 45,756 who arrived by small boat last year.
On Friday Rishi Sunak tried to head off the inevitability of more damaging headlines on the subject by saying the level of legal migration was “too high”, yet refused to stipulate a figure he deemed acceptable.
Researchers also singled out the home secretary, Suella Braverman, for invigorating the far right, saying her inflammatory anti-migrant rhetoric was frequently parroted by some of its most notorious figures.
Last October Braverman claimed the south coast of England was being invaded by asylum seekers, with Hope not Hate finding her language had prompted a 52% rise in the use of the word “invasion” on Telegram.
Further analysis found Braverman’s statements on migration were supported by the far right, including the British Democratic party, a fascist splinter of the British National party (BNP), the Pie n Mash Squad, a Nazi hooligan group primarily based in Wales, and the Hearts of Oak, a far-right “cultural movement” promoted by Tommy Robinson.
Anti-Islam activist Robinson in turn backed the current home secretary on Telegram, one of his posts prompting warnings of violence and death threats against migrants from some of his followers.
Another convicted criminal who has demonstrated support for Braverman is James Allchurch, a white supremacist who was last week jailed after being found guilty of distributing audio material to stir up racial hatred.
Patrik Hermansson, senior researcher at Hope not Hate, said: “This research is stark proof that the government is not taking the far right threat seriously, but actively feeding it through their rhetoric.”
The report added: “Government rhetoric around immigration is moving more and more in line with the extreme anti-migrant views of the far right.
“The explicit targeting of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, and the organisations that support them, by the political mainstream has opened up opportunities for the far right.”
Almost 3,500 – 3,468 – articles by the Daily Mail, Daily Express and the Sun on migration were analysed, finding a statistically significant link between press coverage and far-right engagement on Telegram.
The phrase “illegal migrant” or “illegal immigrant” was found in 950 (27%) of them with another 815 covering asylum hotels, the vast majority published last year. Meanwhile, the popularity of the far right talking about hotel accommodation has increased by 316.67% in the Telegram chats since 2021.
“The media are pivotal in reproducing and sanitising these government narratives for mainstream consumption. This has established an ecosystem of hostility towards migrants, from the Home Office, through to mainstream media. Each reinforces the other. This sets the country in a dangerous direction,” said the report.
It also examined the government’s relationship with the rightwing media, demonstrated by restricted press briefings and trips to media and reporters it considered sympathetic.
Shortly after becoming home secretary in October 2022, Braverman held introductory meetings with journalists, but omitted to invite a number of reporters from left-leaning organisations.
Braverman’s most recent trip to Rwanda – the country where she says it is her “dream” to send UK asylum seekers – barred a number of media organisations who had questioned the widely condemned plan.
Meanwhile, slogans such as Sunak’s “stop the boats” have been widely adopted by the far right with protesters gathering outside asylum hotels carrying placards with the same words. The neo-Nazi group Patriotic Alternative has similarly used Braverman’s language to protest outside asylum hotels using “end the invasion” banners.
“The overlap between government, media and far-right rhetoric has allowed the latter to become normalised,” said the report.
Among examples of spikes in far-right Telegram activity after government statements include those citing its Rwanda policy, with messages on Telegram far-right groups rising by 72% above average the day after Boris Johnson declared that 50 asylum seekers had been told they will be sent to Africa in the next fortnight last May.
Hostile rhetoric is not restricted to online chat forums. The day after Braverman made her infamous “invasion” comment, a man found to have shared anti-migrant content on social media attacked an immigration centre with a petrol bomb.
Andrew Leak’s now deleted Twitter account revealed a man who extensively consumed far-right material and was obsessed with violence against Muslims and migrants.
Rosie Carter, director of policy at Hope not Hate, said: “The government are the architects of a broken asylum system, but instead of focusing on fixing it for what people seeking sanctuary and receiving communities need, they have doubled down on a divisive agenda with dangerous consequences. We need to see the government and media take responsibility and end their cruel and inflammatory approach to immigration.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The home secretary has been abundantly clear that people should not be making life-threatening, illegal journeys to the UK.
“Those in genuine need of protection should claim asylum at the earliest opportunity in the first safe country they reach. This is an internationally, legally recognised principle.”
