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Rylan's immigration rant: Fact-checked | LBC
Aug 29, 2025
Aasmah Mir is joined by LBC’s political correspondent, Aggie Chambre, to fact-check the comments made by TV presenter Rylan Clark on the ITV show This Morning. The presenter raised concerns about the treatment of migrants arriving on small boats. During his now-infamous rant on Wednesday, Clark said there was “something wrong” with the way refugees are welcomed. His words sparked a huge online debate, leading the presenter to take to Instagram to defend himself. This has drawn attention to the broader issue of how facts and narratives are presented in public discussions about migration, which can lead to the spread of misinformation. Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #aasmahmir #immigration #asylumseekers #asylumhotels #ukpolitics #rylan #thismorning #LBC LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK. Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/ Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup
View Video Transcript
0:00
How much is misinformation affecting the debate, the very legitimate debate, around crime, migrants and asylum seekers
0:12
Generally speaking, you'll know that police are warning people with huge social media followings to not share material that is factually untrue
0:20
We also had a situation this week where Ryland Clark, the TV presenter, he was on this morning
0:25
and he was criticised by some and praised by others for raising concerns about migration
0:33
But how much of what he said was factually true? How much of what people say about the migrant debate is factually true
0:42
Do we still care about the truth? Whose truth is it? If you're worried about migrants, you should absolutely be able to have a platform
0:51
to say what you think, to say what your concerns are. But do you feel that you have a responsibility to get your facts right
1:01
Or would you say that doesn't matter? And that as long as you've done your research, inverted commas
1:09
that you have maybe cut and pasted something from somewhere, you haven't checked it, but you trust the person from which it comes
1:17
from whom it comes, that that's good enough. or do we actually have a responsibility to get our facts right
1:25
And I know things have shifted over the last 10 years and a lot of you have less trust than you did before
1:31
in the so-called mainstream media. But do we need to keep a grip on facts
1:37
And does that, I don't know, does that just make any debate that we have better, healthier
1:44
It doesn't mean that you can't have an opinion, but does that opinion have to be surrounded by facts
1:53
Let's have a listen to what Ryland said. He was speaking on This Morning on Wednesday
1:57
and Ryland Clark expressed his view on the small boats issue. A lot of the nurses, the doctors that have saved my mum's life
2:06
have come over here from other countries, are living a great life, they're paying into this tax system
2:11
they're helping this country thrive. I find it absolutely insane. that all these people, one, are risking their lives
2:19
coming across the channel like that they are, but two, when they get here, it does seem
2:24
and I think this is why a lot of Labour voters as well are now sitting there going, there's something wrong here
2:28
it seems, welcome, come on in. This is the narrative we're being fed
2:32
Here's the hotel. Here's the phones. Here's the iPad. Here's the NHS in reception of your hotel
2:38
Here's three meals a day. Here's a games room in the hotel. Have a lovely time and welcome
2:43
And then there's people that have lived here all their lives that are struggling, that are homeless
2:48
Let's not even discuss how homeless, that are people living on the streets, veterans, all of this
2:53
Now, this isn't me getting on my soapbox because let me be honest, everyone's going to have an opinion about this
2:57
and you're going to upset someone some which way. I believe that something major needs to be done about this
3:04
The money that it's costing us, the amount of people that are in this country
3:08
that we have no idea who they are, what they done what they capable of and clearly we see a lot of it in the press at the moment some of what some are doing not all what some are doing to people in this country How can if I turn up at Heathrow Airport as a British citizen
3:23
and I've left my passport in Spain, I've got to stand at that airport and won't be let in
3:28
and got to get this. But if I arrive on a boat in Calais, I get taken to a four-star hotel
3:33
Right, that was Rylan Clark speaking on This Morning on Wednesday. There's quite a few different sections to that
3:37
First of all, he talks about legal migration. Then he talks about small boats and the reception that people who arrive on small boats get
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the treatment that they get. Then he talks about homeless people and he talks about cost of living
3:54
And then he talks about something to do with Heathrow Airport, which I didn't quite get
3:58
But anyway, he makes some really interesting and very valid points. But is 100% of what he said there factually true
4:07
Aggie Chombray is LBC's political correspondent. Hi, Aggie. Hello. Try and fact check as much of this as we can
4:14
I don't know how much responsibility there is on Ryland Clark to
4:19
he's not a journalist, to get everything right. But let's try as much as we can
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because I think it's much easier to have a debate when you actually know the facts. So he said, and I think he was generalising
4:32
but he said their migrants are put, small boat arrivals are put in four-star hotels
4:38
Is that true? Yeah, yes, but, and I think this is what is difficult
4:43
about a lot of what he says. There is a huge amount of what he says that is true
4:48
and some of it is not true. So in terms of four-star hotels, yes, that is true
4:53
However, if you speak to people within the government, they would say the Conservatives opened
4:58
a lot of four-star hotels, but now they don't work as four star hotels effectively there's a lot of room sharing and
5:05
a lot of the facilities are closed so were they to be looked at now whether they were still a four
5:09
star hotel potentially the answer would not be yes but that on the face of it categorically true
5:15
but it's really interesting listening to him isn't it because he sort of puts in the caveats of
5:19
saying well this is what it seems like and this is the narrative being fed but then goes on to talk
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about it as if that's what he believes because a narrative if you look it up is is a way of
5:31
presenting facts it's a story uh it's not the facts um but maybe he was i don't know you know
5:38
we'll get into anyway we'll get into that in a minute we'll get into that so it's so interesting
5:41
okay three meals a day i mean would we expect to feed people three meals a day or two or one
5:50
So you will get, if you are waiting to, if you've applied for asylum and you're waiting for the decision
5:57
you will usually get £49.18 for each person in your household and that will help you pay for things you need
6:03
like food, clothing and toiletries. But if your accommodation provides your meals
6:09
then you'll get £9.95 for each person instead. So it's not clear how many meals that will be
6:15
but I guess you could decide how many meals you wanted to spend with that money. phones and iPads
6:20
does everyone get a phone and an iPad? No so in the past
6:25
some charities have given out old phones old iPads especially during COVID but that is not something that the home office gives out Okay NHS and the reception of the hotel No but most people would get access to
6:39
the NHS when they were waiting for their asylum decision to be reached. So they would get access
6:44
to NHS dentistry, NHS, free eyesight tests, help paying for glasses, but that wouldn't be in the
6:53
lobby of your hotel. Right. Now, there is some misinformation around what actually happened
7:00
what the experiences of people who come in on small boats. And of course, there's some people
7:08
who just say, well, they shouldn't be getting anything. They should just be deported straight away. That's not the current system. So we have to deal with the current system, whether you like
7:14
it or not. The current system is, is that they are put in some hotels, some centres, and while
7:20
they're there they are going to be fed and housed they can't work but they have to be fed and they
7:29
have to be housed and I don't know how again do you know roughly off the top of your head
7:33
what kind of period of time are we talking about some of these people will be in these
7:38
centres or hotels for quite a long time that's right I mean so though though and it's worth
7:44
saying as well there is this new law that's just come in the one in one out scheme which actually
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means that some people as soon as they arrive on a small boat will actually be detained immediately
7:53
basically immediately and then they would be deported that at the moment i think is about
7:57
1 to 18 so it's very very small numbers at the moment but in terms of the time frame i mean
8:03
basically what would usually happen is you would be in a processing center for 24 hours or so and
8:10
then move to a hotel and that could be a matter of weeks a matter of months until you get the
8:14
response on asylum and then if you were granted asylum effectively at that point the home office
8:20
taps out and then you're kind of out on your own but of course at that stage you are then eligible
8:24
to seek benefits and out of work benefits and things like that. So presumably people who are
8:30
in these centres for months I mean it's not it's not a parallel to say that they're in a prison
8:37
because they're not but they are kind of restricted that they're inside there's no point in them
8:44
I mean, they can go out, obviously, but they can't work. So they're probably spending quite a lot of time indoors
8:51
And therefore, I suppose there is, is there, I don't know, a contractual
8:56
for some people, there's a contractual liability to do something with them
9:01
And that's where this balloon story has come from this morning. Thousands of pounds, according to the Sun, being blown on hiring staff
9:08
to teach balloon craft and floristry to migrants facing the boot. painting and hairdressing tutors
9:14
and a gym boss also wanted for Heathrow Immigration Removal Centre where detainees include serious criminals
9:20
I'm just reading this from The Sun. Now this was confirmed and last night the Home Office Minister
9:25
Seema Malhotra said the department had asked for the roles to be scrapped
9:30
She said, we don't believe all these roles are necessary and have told the Home Office to speak to Mighty
9:36
that's the contracting firm, to remove them. So sometimes it sounds mad but it is true This is the case for one removal centre that they were advertising for people to put on this stuff to occupy the people who are in these centres So
9:58
sometimes it's true and sometimes it's not. And I think this is where we come back to the point
10:03
with the conversation we were having at the beginning about a narrative. And I think when
10:06
people see stories like that. I mean, the Tories have commented too, saying the government's lost
10:12
the plot. And indeed, the Home Office Minister immediately is saying to Mighty, you know
10:17
please get rid of these. So that seems like it sounds ridiculous to everybody, really
10:21
that's looked at that story. But I think that's why we get back to the narrative of people see that and think that seems ridiculous. How, you know, how big a problem is that? And it's
10:30
been really interesting this week, speaking to people within government about small boats
10:34
about their agenda going forward because of course from Monday we're back in the game recess is over
10:40
and one of the things that I think the government has started talking a lot more about internally
10:45
is a sense of fairness and they are worried that people in the country feel there is a huge amount
10:50
of unfairness going on and that's something that they are trying to work out basically what to do
10:54
about really and small boats is is a massive issue within that because they feel people see small
11:01
boats coming over and think that people in small boats are given accommodation are given money um
11:07
and then their high street is getting more dilapidated and it's something i'm told rachel
11:12
reeves is actually thinking about when she's thinking about what's going to go into the budget the fact that people feel they're putting more and more and more in and guess it getting
11:18
less and less out but when i say to people well what are you going to do about that they do say
11:23
well we do something about the boats we need to deliver and we need to make sure that everything
11:28
is a bit more fair and that doesn't feel at this stage that tangible and that's why you get into
11:33
these kind of difficult conversations where people do just feel that everything is a bit unfair yeah
11:38
um it's a difficult question but i'll ask it anyway do you think that the government um
11:44
some people say oh god why won't the government do something why won't they just why doesn't
11:48
just stand up and say something intervene in all of this because it before it gets worse the debate
11:53
around which is sometimes not always it sometimes has some misinformation around it about migrants
12:00
about hotels about crime etc are they a bit paralyzed and they don't quite know what to do
12:07
or do they feel that they don't need to respond to something that perhaps they don't experience
12:14
themselves i think it's a real mix of things i mean i think the government would probably point
12:18
to the fact that Keir Starmer did make a real set piece intervention
12:22
about migration a few months ago. And that speech was actually pretty widely criticised
12:28
by some in his party because of that line in it where he talked about an island of strangers
12:32
which he has since said he regretted and he hadn't read the speech properly before he gave it
12:37
But they would probably point to that intervention. But there's also, of course, the politics of it all
12:42
And that's the fact that the Labour Party is incredibly worried about Reform UK
12:46
They see them as the real opposition. And so I don't think that they would want to be
12:50
ceding too much ground to them on migration, much to the worry of some on the left of their party
12:58
OK, Agi, thank you very much for that. Agi Chambra, LBC's political correspondent
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