POLITICIANS are united against "divisive" vans which will encourage illegal migrants to leave the country.
The Home Office has unveiled plans for vans to drive around Brent and other boroughs with the message "Go home or face arrest" written on the side.
Labour council leader Muhammed Butt spoke to BBC London radio on Tuesday morning and said: "I was absolutely horrified to find that Brent had been chosen and we hadn't been consulted. In a diverse borough like Brent when 65 per cent of the population is from an immigrant background it's just a totally divisive policy. It just shows what contempt national government has for local government and we have to face all the decisions made by them and they're giving us no support to move forward."
Mr Butt's political rival, Liberal Democrat MP for Brent Central Sarah Teather, was in agreement on the issue.
She said: “I fear that the only impact this deeply divisive form of politics will have will be to create tension and mistrust towards anyone who looks and sounds foreign. These adverts are nothing less than straight forward intimidation and can only have bad consequences for communities like those I represent in Brent. We will all be much poorer for it.”
Leaflets and posters will also be distributed telling people about the advantages of returning home voluntarily.
Two vans will be driven around Hounslow, Barking and Dagenham, Ealing, Barnet, Brent and Redbridge over the next two weeks and will display the number of illegal migrants who have been arrested in their area.
Immigration Minister Mark Harper said: "We are making it more difficult for people to live and work in the UK illegally. Every single day our enforcement officers are arresting, detaining and removing people with no right to be in the UK. But there is an alternative to being led away in handcuffs. Help and advice can be provided to those who cooperate and return home voluntarily."
The Home Office said that more than 28,000 departed voluntarily last year.
The adverts on the vans say: "In the UK illegally? Go home or face arrest. Text HOME to 78070 for free advice, and help with travel documents. We can help you return home voluntarily without fear of arrest or detention."
