A HOME Office minister caused an uproar after he said today that asylum-seekers detained at the notorious Manston facility have “a bit of cheek” to complain about conditions. 

Policing minister Chris Philp suggested that people who arrived in Britain “illegally” were unreasonable to raise concerns about the processing facility in Kent. 

His comments follow reports of diphtheria, scabies and MRSA cases at the severely overcrowded facility, where thousands of people are packed into communal tents, sleeping on floor mats. 

The new Home Office minister told Times Radio today: “If people choose to enter a country illegally, and unnecessarily, it is a bit, you know, it’s a bit of a cheek to then start complaining about the conditions.

“They don’t even have to come here, they were in France already and previously often passed through Belgium, Germany and many other countries on the way.”

Charity Care4Calais said it was “incredibly unfair” and “misleading” to accuse people arriving from France of entering the country illegally.

“There is a mountain of evidence that the vast majority are genuine refugees in need of our help. They have no other way to come as no legal routes exist,” the charity’s founder Clare Moseley said.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said: “Chris Philp’s comments reveal a shocking and callous complacency over the disaster unfolding at Manston.

“It is unbelievable that as we hear reports of sexual assaults, disease, and chronic overcrowding, his response is to accuse those who complain of ‘cheek’.”

Mr Philps said that two groups of asylum-seekers were abandoned in London without warm clothes, food or a place to stay after being transferred out of Manston earlier this week due to a “misunderstanding” with Home Office officials. 

He claimed the groups told immigration officials “they had addresses to go to, so friends and family, and that turned out subsequently not to be the case.”

Westminster City Council said that its rough sleeping service had offered hotel spaces to 11 of these people, and seven had taken up the offer, with the case prompting urgent calls for a review by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Home Secretary has taken urgent decisions to alleviate issues at Manston using all the legal powers available and sourcing alternative accommodation.”