Labour MP defends anti-rape guidance being handed to asylum seekers: ‘Why shouldn’t we do it?’

A Labour MP has defended the Home Office handing “anti-rape” guidance to asylum seekers as a “public service” that is done elsewhere.

Speaking to GB News, Graeme Downie questioned why the state would not provide the documents that advise migrants on the age of consent and warnings that rape is illegal.

The guidance tells recipients that sex without consent is rape and that a person cannot consent while they are asleep, drunk or otherwise unable to respond.

It also states that these rules apply within marriage and relationships, while warning that child abuse is a serious crime.

Mr Downie rejected suggestions that the leaflet should never have been issued, arguing that similar public information campaigns are routinely used to tackle crime and social problems.

“I think if you look around crime figures, you’ll actually see that we should probably tell a large number of men in the UK those facts as well, to be honest,” he said.

“We need to make sure we’re reducing violence against women and girls and make sure we’re tackling all of these issues head on with a lot of public information.”

“We do this kind of public information in every other part of life and facet of life, so I don’t really see why we shouldn’t do it here as well.”

Asked whether he believed the Home Office leaflet had been a mistake, Mr Downie said he did not.

"There are any number of government publications that come out,” he said, adding, "So no, I don’t think it’s a mistake to do these kinds of things at all.”

The Labour MP also acknowledged that concerns about crimes committed by asylum seekers were legitimate, insisting that those who commit offences should face the consequences.

“When people come here and commit crimes, they should be charged for those crimes,” he said.

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“And if they’re not entitled to be here, they should be deported.”

Mr Downie insisted that Labour was already taking action to remove foreign offenders, saying more than 10,000 people had been deported.

“We are removing the barriers to deporting people out of this country where they commit criminal offences,” he said.

“This Government has already deported over 10,000 people already. That’s more than any Government in the past has managed to do.”

“The action that’s important is on the other end of it, where people commit crimes, that we are taking the right action,” he said.

The Labour MP also defended the Government's wider approach to illegal migration, rejecting claims that its pledge to “stop the boats” and “smash the gangs” was impossible to achieve.

“It’s not an impossible task, but it is a very complicated task and not a simple one at all,” he said.

“We must tackle it in the Channel. We must tackle it with people who are here, and we must tackle it to prevent people who are not entitled to be here from coming here in the first place.”