04 June 2023 , 07:14
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Pop star Dua Lipa has lashed out at the Government's "short-sighted and small-minded" attitude towards migrants.
The singer, who was born in London to Kosovan-Albanian parents, said remarks by Home Secretary Suella Braverman about Albanians caused her "hurt" as she called for "more empathy".
Earlier this year under-fire Ms Braverman singled out "Albanian criminals" as she claimed there was an "invasion" of England in a Commons debate on small boat crossings of the Channel.
It sparked a huge backlash against her choice of words.
Grammy Award winner Lipa, 27, said there needs to be more "empathy" and recognition that immigrants have earned their keep by working "incredibly hard".
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Suella Braverman has come under fire over her choice of words (Leon Neal/AP/REX/Shutterstock)In an interview with the Sunday Times, Lipa said: "Of course it hurt.
"All those words thrown around about immigrants? I always felt London was an amalgamation of cultures. It is integral to the city.
"So when you hear the Government talk about Albanians, for example, it hurts. It's short-sighted and small-minded, but it's the way a lot of people think.
"No matter how we try and change the rhetoric, there will always be those who think, 'Immigrants are coming into the country and taking jobs.'
"However, immigrants who have come here have earned their keep by working incredibly hard. There needs to be more empathy, because people don't leave their country unless they have to out of necessity, out of fear for their family."
Albania's prime minister Edi Rama has criticised the "very, very disgraceful" singling out of Albanians by ministers, particularly Ms Braverman.
During a meeting with Rishi Sunak in No 10 in March, Mr Rama cited Lipa as an example of the positives that Albanians bring to Britain.
"Dua Lipa is not just simply a British singer, but she's an Albanian immigrant that has come here, as many have come, to construct, to nurse, to cook and to sing for you, and we want to make sure that this community feels not only safe but feels honoured here," he said.
Lipa's parents left Kosovo in around 1992, as the tensions that led to the war that started six years later began to surface.
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