Rylan Clark questions irregular arrivals, praises legal migrants

Rylan Clark sparked a heated national debate on Wednesday after a monologue about immigration on ITV's This Morning in which he praised the contribution of legal migrants who treated his ill mother but criticised the treatment of people arriving in small boats. Clark said the Channel crossings were "absolutely insane" and questioned why those who arrive irregularly are, in his words, shown a warm welcome and housed in hotels, while some long-term British residents struggle.

Speaking live, Clark said "This country is built on immigration. Legal immigration a lot of the nurses, the doctors that have saved my mum's life have come over here from other countries. They are paying into this tax system, they are helping this country thrive." He added that he found it "absolutely insane" that people risked the Channel and then, he said, appeared to be handed phones, iPads, meals and hotel accommodation. "How can it be that if I turn up at Heathrow Airport as a British citizen and I've left my passport in Spain, I've got to stand at that airport and won't be let in. But if I arrive on a boat from Calais, I get taken to a four-star hotel?" he asked.

Clark acknowledged his remarks would...