It used to be the Australians who threw coloured people into the sea to drown, now we are ready to join in - or at least stand by and watch while others do it.

Whether crossing the Med in rickety boats or stuck in filthy camps near Calais it is all too reminiscent of officialdom’s efforts to turn away the kindertransport from Nazi Germany.

I think we would be better off expelling those people who are not willing to offer the unfortunate a new home.

There is little point European politicians talking of rescuing half-drowned people or thinking they will ever stop the people traffickers.

Those who want to come should be given free passage on one of our new empty aircraft carriers.

Lots of the African countries in the north are French—speaking, so many will want to go there.

If I ever find so-called ‘illegal immigrants’ trying to sneak ashore in the Loughor estuary I, for one, will look the other way.

If I had a boat I’d even go to Calais to pick some unfortunate up.

After all, four generations back the Harragans were in Dublin. The girlfriend’s family were in Germany.

In recent years we have denuded the Philippines of nurses, India of doctors.

On the day he died my dad was being looked after by a doctor from Madras.

And the Poles were very welcome - when they brought their own Spitfires.