MP Jenkyns cancels surgery over refugee protest fears

Morley and Outwood MP Ms Jenkyns voted in the House of Commons against Lord Alf Dubs’ proposed amendment to the Immigration Bill, which would have meant the UK accepting 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children.

In response, members of the We Are Wakefield group planned a protest outside her surgery at Drighlington Community Library tomorrow.

Ms Jenkyns confirmed the surgery was cancelled on the advice of police over security issues – but protesters will now stage a “vigil” outside her Queen Street office instead.

We Are Wakefield member Leda Prest, of Horbury, said Ms Jenkyns is the closest MP to have voted against the amendments. The group hopes to persuade her to vote for a new amendment backed by the House of Lords on Tuesday.

Ms Prest said: “We were going to protest peacefully and show pictures to highlight the plight of these 3,000 children who have got the right to be here.

“We’re going to have a vigil to ask her to vote for the Dubs amendment.

“We Are Wakefield have undertaken trips to the camps in Dunkirk and Calais. I’ve seen children as young as three-and-a-half who are unaccompanied.”

Ms Prest added that she wanted to stress the protest will be peaceful. Ms Jenkyns said she cancelled the surgery after seeing comments posted on a Facebook page. She said she did not want to put her constituents through the ordeal of walking through a hostile crowd. She also said she was concerned about one post which reads “Can we throw eggs?”

MPs voted against Dubs’ proposals by 294 to 276 on Monday.

The House of Lords has since backed a different proposal, which will remove the obligation to accept the 3,000 amount of child refugees. It would require the government to consult with local authorities to settle on a total.

Lord Alf Dubs came to Britain as part of the Kindertransport scheme before the war. The protest will begin after 11am.