Lily Allen has taken to Twitter to defend her comments in which she ‘apologised on behalf of the UK’ to refugee children in Calais.
Allen was appearing on the BBC for Victoria Derbyshire’s show when she met children staying at the migrant ‘jungle’. Among the 1,000 youngsters living there without parents, Allen met with a 13-year-old boy who fled Afghanistan where he says ‘the Taliban were trying to kill me’.
After he unveiled the extent of his ordeal and that he would try to smuggle his way into the UK after authorities would take too long to process his move, the ‘Smile’ singer broke down in tears and said: “At three points in your life [the UK] has put you in danger. We bombed your country, put you in the hands of the Taliban, and now put you in danger of risking your life to get into our country. I apologise on behalf of my country, for what we’ve put you through.”
Allen’s comments have been met with waves of online criticism and abuse, and she has spent much of the day defending the programming and fighting for the rights of refugee children:
No one is 'competing' with migrants. It's Tory austerity/cuts that are impacting our services. You are being fed a lie. https://t.co/0ezgr0afrh
— LILYALLEN2.0 (@lilyallen) October 12, 2016
It's not about me or my life, it's about the lives of children. https://t.co/cY0kkiNUhD
— LILYALLEN2.0 (@lilyallen) October 12, 2016
Because the gov't is ignoring their responsibility https://t.co/TV5JA2rYK9
— LILYALLEN2.0 (@lilyallen) October 12, 2016
What are you so scared of ! https://t.co/LLDXoH7I9c
— LILYALLEN2.0 (@lilyallen) October 12, 2016
#abuse #hate https://t.co/AWfiCZVfs6
— LILYALLEN2.0 (@lilyallen) October 12, 2016
My absolute PLEASURE. Keep up the good work !!!! @HelpRefugeesUK https://t.co/c3cnQnS9ZB
— LILYALLEN2.0 (@lilyallen) October 12, 2016
These a problems caused by Tory cuts, not migrants/refugees https://t.co/5UWiZWrG6b
— LILYALLEN2.0 (@lilyallen) October 12, 2016
champagne socialists are a good thing surely. https://t.co/QEld0JD7Vw
— LILYALLEN2.0 (@lilyallen) October 12, 2016
THEY ARE CHILDREN WITH FAMILY TIES HERE. https://t.co/sXUC440HEJ
— LILYALLEN2.0 (@lilyallen) October 12, 2016
Or maybe that's what you want. https://t.co/cJgZawGqtI
— LILYALLEN2.0 (@lilyallen) October 12, 2016
A human being https://t.co/XKG7rHtbFP
— LILYALLEN2.0 (@lilyallen) October 12, 2016
I believe the problem here are the austerity measures being enforced by the Tories, and tax avoidance. Migrants are the scapegoat. https://t.co/VvqnAggPVV
— LILYALLEN2.0 (@lilyallen) October 12, 2016
You can donate to help the victims of the migrant crisis throughout Europe via Help Refugees UK here.
Meanwhile, Ed Harcourt, Carl Barat, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and The Magic Numbers head up a benefit gig for child refugees in London next month.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/?bctid=69211149001