Dear Priti Patel,

We, the undersigned, support the below statement from the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs and urge you do the same by changing government policy in line with their demands:

We stand in solidarity with migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, and reaffirm the moral and legal right for refugees to claim asylum in the UK.

While the Conservative government and their billionaire press baron allies try to whip up fear about a “migrant crisis”, we know that the real crisis is the war, poverty and persecution that forces people to flee their homes and take dangerous journeys in search of a better life.

Rather than treating these people with hostility, with threats to deploy military vessels to deter crossings, the UK should provide safe and legal routes to people seeking to claim asylum.

The UK must do its fair share in providing a welcoming home to refugees. The current support for asylum seekers - £37.75 a week - and the ban on their right to work is inhumane.

The fact that it is often aggressive wars led by the UK and our allies that forces people to flee