Tory MP Adam Holloway claims he 'couldn't get a haircut because of refugees'

• Gravesham MP says some refugees are also economic migrants
• Hit out at people who have reached safe countries trying to reach Europe
• David Cameron promised to take 20,000 refugees over the next five years
• Labour's Yvette Cooper says Britain has to do more to help the desperate 

Refugees granted asylum in Britain are going back to the country they fled for holidays, a Tory MP claimed today.

Adam Holloway complained he had been unable to get his hair cut because his barber had returned to his home country.

And he hit out at refugees who have reached safe countries embarking on dangerous journeys to reach mainland Europe.

Adam Holloway complained he had been unable to get his haircut because his barber had returned to his home country

In a Commons debate on the refugee crisis, Labour leadership contender Yvette Cooper led calls for Britain to take more than the 20,000 people David Cameron promised

yesterday.

But Mr Holloway, Tory MP for Gravesham in Kent, said a clear message had to be sent to refugees that they cannot get into Europe 'through the back door'.

He claimed Germany and other European countries are 'completely bonkers' if they give ever-growing numbers of refugees and migrants the right to settle in Europe.

In a strident Commons speech, he said it is possible to be an economic migrant and a refugee - something campaigners have warned against confusing.

He also pointed to media reports suggesting Pakistanis, Afghans, Iraqis 'claim to be Syrians as well, because it is the Syrians who have the most valid claim to asylum'. 

Mr Holloway told MPs: 'I think that's one of the appalling truths, if you like, of the Syrian bodies that are being washed up on the beaches.

'They've previously got to safe countries and now they're choosing to come in Europe, again I would do it.

'Likewise, 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.

'I couldn't have my hair cut the other day for that reason.'

Mr Holloway insisted there are 'plenty of very wealthy countries' with land close to the affected areas who could help refugees, adding Syria needs a regional solution.

He added: 'At some stage we're going to have to realise that big boys' toys, you know, drones, lean men with suntans and biking moustaches, unseasonable suntans and fast jets, they are not the things that end wars.

'What ends wars ultimately is when you work on the politics and on that sometimes you have to go into partnership with some pretty unpleasant people. But that's for another debate.' 

Mr Holloway pointed to media reports suggesting Pakistanis, Afghans, Iraqis 'claim to be Syrians as well, because it is the Syrians who have the most valid claim to asylum'

Mr Holloway told the emergency debate: 'I think we've got to make it absolutely clear that you'll not be allowed to live in Europe if you try to get into Europe through the back door.

'Instead, if you're a refugee, you should be offered a well-resourced place of safety ... perhaps in Europe, but more probably in a safe place in the region where you live.

'If it turns out you're an economic migrant, you should be taken home. This isn't xenophobic, I think it's moral, practical, fair, and also sustainable over many years.'

Mr Holloway said this approach is the only way to slow the 'bodies landing on the beaches' and for Europe to re-establish control of its borders.

Labour leadership contender Yvette Cooper said Britain should take in more refugees than the 4,000 a year proposed by David Cameron

He went on: 'It's not an idle exaggeration or scaremongering to say over the coming years we're looking at potentially hundreds of millions of people seeking a better life in Europe, and the numbers have and will grow as long as we continue to reward these journeys with the opportunity to settle in Europe.'

Earlier, Miss Cooper said Britain should take in more refugees than the 4,000 a year proposed by Mr Cameron. 

The shadow home secretary said the Prime Minister's promise to accept 20,000 Syrian refugees by May 2020 drawn from camps around the war-torn country paled in comparison to historic British efforts.

Ms Cooper said the Government should speak to councils, charities and faith groups to assess how much help they are offering and then support them to deliver it, setting a target for how many people to take in one year.

If the country can and needs to take more refugees after that time then that should be assessed on an annual basis, she said.

Ms Cooper also demanded action to help those already in Europe, including from other conflict-ridden countries such as Iraq, Eritrea, Somalia and Libya.

She suggested the Government could fund the UNHCR to do asylum assessments in under-pressure European border countries like Greece and to offer to resettle to Britain some of those who qualify for refugee status.

Opening an emergency debate on the refugee crisis, Ms Cooper said: 'The Prime Minister said yesterday that he would help up to 20,000 refugees over the five-year parliament.

'But the crisis is now and helping 4,000 refugees this year isn't enough.

'Four thousand compared to the 24,000 in France, hundreds of thousands in Germany, 4,000 compared to our population of 60 million, 4,000 compared to the 10,000 we helped in just nine months under the Kindertransport, 4,000 compared to the 19,000 Vietnamese boat people who fled to Britain from the Vietcong and 4,000 compared to the 24,000 Kosovans that came to Britain in the late 90s. We can do more than this.'