Councillor’s video of migrant-coach escort in Gosport goes viral, sparks asylum-cost debate
George Madgwick posts footage of a large police escort for coaches meant for migrants, calling the spending unbelievable.
What to know
- A councillor's video claiming a migrant-coach convoy in Gosport received a larger security escort than the Prime Minister or King has gone viral on X, gathering roughly 35,000 upvotes.
- The claim itself is presented only through Madgwick's own framing in the video; the underlying details of the operation are not independently confirmed in available material.
- The clip has fed into an existing online argument about the cost of housing asylum seekers and whether current rules let migrants choose their destination country.
The dispute Whether the asylum system's rules incentivize migrants to 'window shop' for the UK's benefits, versus most already settling in the first safe country they reach. · positions read across 5 posts and comments
The asylum system is too generous and enables people to choose the UK for its housing and benefits, so stricter facilities are needed.
-
“Once migrants learn they will not be put up at the taxpayers expense they will stop flooding in… I agree with the point of building facilities though, or housing illegal migrants in closed off buildings. It’s such an obvious solution to a…”
N-V-V-M-E-A · Reddit ↗
Claims about migrants exploiting the system or being disproportionately criminal are overstated; most stay in the first safe country and most are not criminals.
-
“You do realise they don't have to settle in the first country they get to right? Even then, most already do stay in the first country they arrive in. The vast majority of asylum seekers aren't criminals likewise the vast majority of Brits…”
superwisk · Reddit ↗
George Madgwick Councillor, poster of the viral footage
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments
-
2
Footage is cross-posted to Reddit and draws debate
The same video and quote are reposted to Reddit under Madgwick's title, generating comments that shift into a wider argument about asylum housing costs, rules, and whether asylum seekers are being unfairly generalized.
“Once migrants learn they will not be put up at the taxpayers expense they will stop flooding in. Do you any sources to indicate this? I agree with the point of building facilities though, or housing illegal migrants in closed off buildings.”
— N-V-V-M-E-A, Reddit commenter · source -
>If a ship is waiting to be scrapped then it isn’t fit for purpose. Companies don’t scrap expensive vehicles that could viably be used to make them money, after all, and the fact that they are scrapping them means that it would cost more to repair them than to buy one brand new. They are usually sent for scrap if they are a little dated and costly…
2 more of the top 3 · 4 posts in this stretch
-
“Once migrants learn they will not be put up at the taxpayers expense they will stop flooding in”. Do you any sources to indicate this? I agree with the point of building facilities though, or housing illegal migrants in closed off buildings. It’s such an obvious solution to a glaring problem.
-
You do realise they don't have to settle in the first country they get to right? Even then, most already do stay in the first country they arrive in. The vast majority of asylum seekers aren't criminals likewise the vast majority of Brits aren't criminals.
-
-
1
Madgwick posts video of coach convoy escort in Gosport
Councillor George Madgwick shares footage on X of coaches, which he says were planned to carry migrants, being escorted from Hampshire by what he calls a larger motorcade than the Prime Minister or King would receive.
“This has to be seen to be believed. The money spent 🤯 This countries broken…”
— @georgedmadgwick -
EXCLUSIVE footage. Unbelievable scene. Coaches that were planned for migrants to get on in Gosport being escorted from Hampshire by a larger motorcade than what the prime minister or king would get. This has to be seen to be believed. The money spent 🤯 This countries broken
-
What people are saying 1 voices from 1 site · best of 5 · verbatim
- Yesterday
-
I know the grossly outdated rules means they can window shop, yes. As I said, we have no shortage of those turning up to enjoy such awful conditions of being housed, fed and watered for the rest of their lives.