Former Pembroke Master warns of “populist uprising” in the face of EU migration crisis

Dearlove is not being a dear in his statements about refugees.

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Previous Pembroke Master and former Head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, has sparked controversy with a warning at the BBC’s ‘World on the Move Day’ that Europe is facing a “populist uprising” if governments cannot convincingly demonstrate that they can control the current migrant crisis.

On the back of his recent article which argued that Brexit would not damage the UK’s security, Dearlove is facing anger at his opposition to negotiations with Turkey which are proposing visa-free travel within the EU for Turkish citizens in exchange for controlling migration, slamming the measures as “perverse, like storing gasoline next to the fire we’re trying to extinguish”.

Known for his controversial opinions, has Dearlove gone too far?

An MI6 tenure which included overseeing the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, Dearlove has also previously been taken to task about his stance on the Islamist terror threat to the UK which he believes has been exaggerated by both the government and the media, an opinion which he voiced in a lecture in 2014.

Lambasting the EU’s response to the migrant crisis as “hesitant and irresolute”, the former Pembroke master today called for a “much more aggressive operation along the North African coast”.

May will argue he is diminishing the suffering of refugees

He admitted that as an alternative to a Turkish deal, a €1.8bn (£1.4bn) provision by the EU to address the roots of migration in North Africa “made much more sense”, yet cautioned that it would not be enough to control the “human tides” flowing towards Europe.

Dearlove remains closely tied to Pembroke College, remaining President of the Boatclub and has, in the past, provided substantial financial support.

Dearlove remains head of the Pembroke boathouse and recently bought them a £20,000 boat

Dearlove’s hard-line rhetoric on the migrant crisis and Brexit may cause upset nationally but will most likely do little to damage his influence within Pembroke College.