Complaint threat at Yarmouth mayor's asylum seeker comments

Graham Plant, the deputy leader of Norfolk County Council, is facing a standards complaint from opposition councillors after comments he made in his role as a member of County Hall's cabinet.

Mr Plant, who is also mayor of Great Yarmouth, has been accused of misusing his office as a councillor and providing "disinformation" during a debate about support for asylum seekers.

There were gasps from opposition councillors as Mr Plant spoke about the need to check the criminal records of asylum seekers and how he could not support an amnesty on undocumented migrants already living and working in the UK.

His remarks came after Great Yarmouth Borough Council obtained an interim injunction from the High Court restricting around 60 hotels from accommodating asylum seekers.

The government had already moved a number of asylum seekers into hotels, including in Norwich and Wisbech, after overcrowding at the Manston processing facility in Kent.

Their arrival has put pressure on the borough council and other Norfolk councils, who had not been prepared in advance.

And, during debate on a Green motion, which had been amended by Labour, about support for asylum seekers, Mr Plant said: "The fact those people turned up at Manston in the numbers they turned up in and then you have to disperse them across the country is not something we are geared up to do.

"We didn't expect that to happen and the government put things in place they thought was a way to deal with it.

"On the ground, where we are in the local districts, we are struggling with that.

"They arrived on the Monday and we got them on the Friday. There was no status with them. We didn't know what their criminal records were. We didn't know what their health records were.

"That has to be found out, unless we are to have Labour's element of open doors for everybody, which is what we have had for the past 20 years.

"If you are going to come into England, there are legal ways to come into England. We have that in place."

Earlier this month, home secretary Suella Braverman was not able to specify what legal route there was for a hypothetical example of an asylum seeker from Africa.

Home secretary Suella Braverman (Image: UK Parliament)

The Green motion had called for an end to "the hostile environment" around asylum seekers, but Mr Plant said: "Me just saying what I have said is a hostile environment, if you listen, because they are shouting me down."

And on a call for an amnesty for undocumented migrants already living and working in the UK, Mr Plant said: "I wonder how much of the public would agree with that.

"I cannot agree with that because my children walk these streets and I want to know - if they are a criminal and they are in the system - that we know about it and they have been dealt with.

"If they are arriving here and we don't know nothing about anybody, what are we putting into our society?"

Green county councillor Jamie Osborn (Image: Jamie Osborn)

The motion was defeated and Jamie Osborn, Green councillor for Norwich's Mancroft ward, told the meeting he intended to make a complaint to the standards committee about Mr Plant's remarks.

He cited misuse of Mr Plant's office as a councillor and said he had provided "disinformation" about the status of people seeking asylum.

Mr Plant responded: "How dare you?"

When Mr Osborn - who intends to contest the Norwich South seat at the next parliamentary election - said he would submit his complaint in writing, Mr Plant said: "I will be happy to defend it."

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Speaking afterwards, Mr Osborn said Mr Plant's comments did not treat people with respect, as set out in the member code of conduct, and he would be submitting a written standards complaint.

Mr Osborn said: "I think it is extremely inflammatory to equate people seeking asylum with criminals."

It is understood Labour and the Liberal Democrats are also considering standards complaints.

Mr Plant has been approached for comment but has not responded.

Norfolk County Council leader Andrew Proctor (Image: Norfolk County Council)

But Andrew Proctor, the council's leader, said: "Any standards complaint has to be made in writing. As to what Graham said, he was only expressing the view that most people would hold and I support that view as well.

"We have got to know what people are about who come into this country, by whatever route they come in.

"That is a natural reaction and you'd expect people to be able to say it. I do not see anything wrong with what Graham said.

"He was not implying everybody who seeks asylum is a criminal. Far from it."