THE ecumenical city-centre chaplain in Peterborough, the Revd Ian Houghton, has defended the region’s large migrant population, after a film showed the plight of men in a “squatter camp”.
Members of the Christian United People Ministry in Peterborough made a short film on the hardships faced by a group of mainly Polish and Lithuanian men, who live in makeshift shelters near the city centre.
Peterborough has attracted about 16,000 immigrants since the expansion of the European Union in 2004. Many are attracted to the region by jobs available in the agricultural industry.
Mr Houghton rebutted reports that the migrants were living off handouts. “A very small group are what the Red Cross would describe as having no recourse to public funds, as they are from the new accession states and have not been working here a year.
“There are a huge amount of asylum-seekers, refugees, and migrant workers in Peterborough, and the vast majority have integrated and are working and contributing to the local economy.”
Anthony Slack, of the Christian United People Ministry, has been giving food and clothing to the men. The film was made, he said, to draw the situation to people’s attention in the UK and in Eastern Europe.
“It’s a message to people thinking of coming over here from Eastern Europe. Our streets are not paved with gold. We have our own problems, and there’s no guarantee of work,” he said.
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