Reform’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf, clashed with a Sky News presenter during a debate on immigration, after being asked about his parents’ decision to move to the UK from Sri Lanka in the 1980s.
Matt Barbet posed the question to Mr Yusuf on Sunday evening’s show (16 November) after he criticised the cost of illegal immigration to British taxpayers.
Asked why his parents had chosen to settle in the UK, Yusuf replied: “I don’t think that’s particularly relevant,” adding that the question implied, “there is a limit to how restrictive an immigration policy I can advocate for because my parents happen to be immigrants.”
Barbet denied the allegation, saying he was merely asking whether the UK was viewed at the time as a compassionate and welcoming country.
The exchange followed comments from home secretary Shabana Mahmood, who announced that asylum seekers could lose their automatic right to housing support under Labour.
