Yesterday the Daily Express splashed the offensive and misleading headline “£1.4bn benefits bill for new EU migrants coming to Britain” across its front page.
The story is shockingly deceptive. It insists that, based on (inaccurate) unemployment figures, almost one in five new Romanian and Bulgarian migrants will live on benefits, costing taxpayers almost £1.4 billion. These figures are wrong and rely only on the misleading testimony of unnamed “experts”.
But the Daily Express isn’t concerned with the facts — they know fear sells, and they’ve got their eye on the bottom line. It’s a disgusting abuse of journalistic integrity and we must hold them accountable.
The article claims “of the 150,000 Romanians already here, 15 per cent don’t have a job”. In reality, there are up to 120,000 Romanians living in Britain today and around 95% of them are employed, according to regular data received by the Romanian Embassy to London from the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Home Office.
None of us are against an open and educated debate on immigration, but that’s not what the Daily Express is after. They’re using unjust accusations against foreigners to manipulate the public and make a profit — and it’s up to us to stop them in their tracks. We know if this type of reporting continues it will only lead to an increase in racism and racist attacks.
Hold the Daily Express accountable for their deceptive paper-selling tactics. Sign HOPE not hate’s open letter now:
https://action.hopenothate.org.uk/tell-them
Thank you for standing up for the truth,
Nick Lowles
