Dua Lipa hits out at MPs' ‘short-sighted and small-minded’ language on migrants

Pop star Dua Lipa has slammed MPs' rhetoric on migrants, describing it as “short-sighted and small-minded”.

Lipa, who is London born to Kosovan-Albanian parents, said the way the government discusses Albanians caused her “hurt” and she has called for “more empathy”.

The 27-year-old's comments followed a House of Commons debate when Home Secretary Suella Braverman singled out “Albanian criminals” and claimed there was an “invasion” of England in a Commons debate on small boat crossings of the Channel.

On Sunday, after Lipa's interview, Immigration Minster Robert Jenrick said: “We’ve entered into a gold standard arrangement with Albania that is seeing thousands of Albanian illegal migrants returned home and the numbers crossing from that country significantly reducing," in an interview with Sophy Ridge On Sunday on Sky News.

He went on to say people arriving on small boats "risk cannibalising the compassion of the UK public".

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Lipa said: “Of course it hurt.

“All those words thrown around about immigrants? I always felt London was an amalgamation of cultures. It is integral to the city.

“So when you hear the government talk about Albanians, for example, it hurts. It’s short-sighted and small-minded, but it’s the way a lot of people think.

“No matter how we try and change the rhetoric, there will always be those who think, ‘Immigrants are coming into the country and taking jobs.’

“However, immigrants who have come here have earned their keep by working incredibly hard. There needs to be more empathy, because people don’t leave their country unless they have to out of necessity, out of fear for their family.”

Albania’s prime minister Edi Rama has criticised the “very, very disgraceful” singling out of Albanians by ministers, particularly Ms Braverman.

During a meeting with Rishi Sunak in No 10 in March, Mr Rama cited Lipa as an example of the positives that Albanians bring to Britain.

“Dua Lipa is not just simply a British singer, but she’s an Albanian immigrant that has come here, as many have come, to construct, to nurse, to cook and to sing for you, and we want to make sure that this community feels not only safe but feels honoured here,” he said.

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