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| Angelina Jolie (pictured at the BBC today) launched a blistering attack on the EU's response to the refugee crisis today and condemned member states for taking part in a 'race to the bottom' over accepting migrants |
She said concerns over uncontrolled migration had allowed a politics of fear to grow and countries were 'competing to be the toughest in the hope of protecting themselves whatever the cost or challenge to their neighbours'.
The Hollywood actress and the UN's special envoy for refugees accused European countries of neglecting their responsibilities to the humanitarian crisis triggered by the five-year civil war in Syria.
And Jolie took aim at politicians for 'preying on the fear' that uncontrolled migration can cause.
In a speech at the BBC's headquarters in London this morning as part of a day of coverage on global migration, the American actress hinted that she wanted British voters to back staying in the EU in June's referendum.
Her comments were immediately attacked by Tory Eurosceptics, who hit out at Jolie for appearing to 'tell us how to vote in the referendum'.
Jolie said this morning: 'After so many years of failed attempts by governments and leaders to do the right thing we are angry, we feel cheated and we feel confused.
'We are starting to think that maybe it is simply not possible to make a lasting difference.
'But the worst possible choice we could now make is to decide to step back from the world.
'The last time there was this number of refugees was after World War Two, when nations came together to forge the United Nations, the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
'I believe this is again that once-in-a-generation moment when nations have to pull together.
She added: 'It would be naïve to think that we can protect ourselves selectively, alone, from challenges in a globalized world, by pulling away from other countries or peoples.
'As with any global problem in the 21st century, uncoordinated national responses are not the answer. An unstable world is an unsafe world for all.
'There is no barrier high enough to protect from such disorder and desperation. If your neighbor’s house is on fire you are not safe if you lock your doors.
'Isolationism is not strength. Fragmentation is not the answer. Strength lies in being unafraid: in working with others, and living up to our highest ideals.'
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| Angelina Jolie, the Hollywood actress and the UN's special envoy for refugees (pictured visiting a Syrian refugee camp) |
Tory MP and leading Eurosceptic Peter Bone said Britain would have the capacity to take in more vulnerable migrants if we were no longer part of the EU's freedom of movement rules.
He told MailOnline: ‘Staying in the EU is being little-Europeans; people who want to come out of the EU look to the world; we want to trade with the world, we want an immigration system that’s fair for the whole world and doesn’t discriminate against people from different backgrounds and we’re outward looking, whereas the European Union is an inward looking closed shop.
‘Coming out of the EU we’ll obviously continue to be part of the UN, we’ll continue to be part of the G8 and we will continue to play a major role as the fifth biggest economy in the world.
'With all our links with countries around the world – not least the Commonwealth – we will be more outward looking and we’ll stop having to concentrate on this ever-shrinking European Union market and look to the rest of the world.’
And Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘It’s just what the people were looking forward to: another American coming over here telling how to vote in the referendum.
‘The British public need to understand that ultimately all countries are in competition with each other and act in their own interests and it’s clear that it’s in the Americans’ interests to have us remain in the EU given the strength of anti-American feeling that is on the continent.
‘However, this is not in Britain’s interests to have this ultimate sacrifice. We can be a stronger and better ally for American and the free world as an independent, sovereign nation.’
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| In an emotional appeal during a speech at the BBC's headquarters in London as part of a day of coverage on migration, Angelina Jolie (pictured this morning) warned that the ongoing threat of war meant 'none of us are immune to becoming refugees', adding: 'So all refugees merit equal respect and compassion' |
Her comments echoed the UN's high commissioner for refugees, who this morning criticised the EU for its 'disorderly' response to the migration crisis.
Filippo Grandi said the EU was sufficiently large and wealthy to be able to share the burden of the influx of migrants from the Middle East without making it a political issue, but had failed to find a solution and was largely to blame for the fact that fewer than 1 per cent of refugees had been resettled.
Urging EU leaders to work closer together to find a solution to the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled to the continent, Jolie said: 'I believe this is again that once-in-a-generation moment when nations have to pull together.
'How we respond will determine whether we create a more stable world, or face decades of far greater instability.'
Jolie appeared to criticise German Chancellor Angela Merkel for opening Germany's borders to Syrian refugees, saying the move only added to the EU's disorderly response to the humanitarian crisis.
Asked whether Ms Merkel's response to the crisis was pragmatic, the actress said: 'It was a beautiful, beautiful thing that said something to the world. But I do think we need to have a real order, and we need to be explaining how things are being done in a clear way.'
'It is also important that the process is clear so that people in the receiving country understand and have better confidence in the system.'
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