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| Barber unable to cut Adam Holloway's hair because he was in Great Yarmouth – not Iraq | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Next time he gets his hair cut, Adam Holloway, the Conservative MP, faces an awkward moment with his barber. | Next time he gets his hair cut, Adam Holloway, the Conservative MP, faces an awkward moment with his barber. |
| In a speech denouncing asylum seekers, the MP for Gravesham told the commons on Tuesday that he couldn’t get his hair cut because his barber, a refugee, had gone on holiday to the country he’d fled. | In a speech denouncing asylum seekers, the MP for Gravesham told the commons on Tuesday that he couldn’t get his hair cut because his barber, a refugee, had gone on holiday to the country he’d fled. |
| “We have people in this country who have come here, claimed asylum and then they go back on holiday in the places where they’ve claimed asylum from,” Holloway thundered. “I couldn’t have my hair cut the other day for that reason.” | “We have people in this country who have come here, claimed asylum and then they go back on holiday in the places where they’ve claimed asylum from,” Holloway thundered. “I couldn’t have my hair cut the other day for that reason.” |
| But Shivan Saeed, who regularly cuts Holloway’s hair at Kent Barbers, Gravesend, has now come forward to reveal that, far from going to Iraq, he in fact spent a week with his family in a caravan in Great Yarmouth. | But Shivan Saeed, who regularly cuts Holloway’s hair at Kent Barbers, Gravesend, has now come forward to reveal that, far from going to Iraq, he in fact spent a week with his family in a caravan in Great Yarmouth. |
| “It’s dangerous to go back to Iraq - if I wanted to go back there why would I have come here?” the 23-year-old told the Daily Mail. “Next time I see him, I will tell him. I am not annoyed – I am alright with it. He just got it wrong.” | “It’s dangerous to go back to Iraq - if I wanted to go back there why would I have come here?” the 23-year-old told the Daily Mail. “Next time I see him, I will tell him. I am not annoyed – I am alright with it. He just got it wrong.” |
| In his first holiday since arriving in the UK seven years ago, Saeed took his British-born wife, Chelsea, and their son to the Hemsby Beach Holiday Village in Norfolk. “We went on the beach, went to the arcades and stayed in a little caravan,” he said. | In his first holiday since arriving in the UK seven years ago, Saeed took his British-born wife, Chelsea, and their son to the Hemsby Beach Holiday Village in Norfolk. “We went on the beach, went to the arcades and stayed in a little caravan,” he said. |
| The development will cause fresh embarrassment for Holloway, who was already being widely mocked by fellow MPs and on Twitter for his 20-minute speech on Tuesday. Downing Street also distanced itself from his remarks, the Mirror reported. | The development will cause fresh embarrassment for Holloway, who was already being widely mocked by fellow MPs and on Twitter for his 20-minute speech on Tuesday. Downing Street also distanced itself from his remarks, the Mirror reported. |
| Stephen Hale, chief executive of Refugee Action, said: “Doubtless Adam Holloway will be saying sorry to his barber for getting the wrong end of the stick. | Stephen Hale, chief executive of Refugee Action, said: “Doubtless Adam Holloway will be saying sorry to his barber for getting the wrong end of the stick. |
| “But in a strange way he’s done us all a favour in highlighting a very heartwarming story of a hard-working refugee, who’s built a new life in the UK with his British wife and their small child. Like millions of other Britons, he was just taking a short and well-deserved break at the English seaside.” | “But in a strange way he’s done us all a favour in highlighting a very heartwarming story of a hard-working refugee, who’s built a new life in the UK with his British wife and their small child. Like millions of other Britons, he was just taking a short and well-deserved break at the English seaside.” |
| i can't wait to see adam holloway's next haircut tbh | i can't wait to see adam holloway's next haircut tbh |
| But Don Flynn, chief executive of the Migrants’ Rights Network, said Holloway’s remarks revealed a serious problem in the way refugees and migrants were treated in British political discourse. | But Don Flynn, chief executive of the Migrants’ Rights Network, said Holloway’s remarks revealed a serious problem in the way refugees and migrants were treated in British political discourse. |
| He said: “There’s obviously the hilarious aspect of it: a guy getting his comeuppance. But there’s obviously the serious aspect, which is a fair bit of policymaking appears to be driven by anecdotes of this sort. | He said: “There’s obviously the hilarious aspect of it: a guy getting his comeuppance. But there’s obviously the serious aspect, which is a fair bit of policymaking appears to be driven by anecdotes of this sort. |
| “This is unfortunately another example of the misleading anecdotes and myths which are circulated about migrants and it’s gratifying that, at least on one occasion, it’s been exposed.” | “This is unfortunately another example of the misleading anecdotes and myths which are circulated about migrants and it’s gratifying that, at least on one occasion, it’s been exposed.” |
| The Guardian has sought a comment from Holloway’s Westminster office. | The Guardian has sought a comment from Holloway’s Westminster office. |