AN MP who blocked a police boss on Twitter has been blasted for “dehumanising” refugees.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones criticised Sarah Atherton, the Conservative MP for Wrexham, for saying that the Navy should be deployed to end boat crossings by refugees across the English Channel.

Ms Atherton who was elected to parliament for the first time in December, has been widely condemned on social media for her “misleading” and “stupid” comments.

Mr Jones, a former police inspector, said: “I think it’s a cynical stunt to distract from the way the Tory government has badly mishandled the coronavirus crisis, and the algorithm debacle with A-level results in England.

“What she has done in indefensible because it feeds bigotry and prejudice and will do nothing to reduce hate crime in our communities. It’s stigmatising people who are perceived to be different.

“Sarah Atherton needs to realise that she’s talking about human beings who have had their lives turned upside down by war here. These are people’s sons, daughters, mums and dads. Some of them are very young children. The idea of weaponizing the military against them is chilling.

“The last thing we should be doing is dehumanising them by stoking up hatred. We wouldn’t like it if our own friends and family were treated that way.

“What we should remember is that many of these people are fleeing places like Iraq and Afghanistan that the UK has destabilised by invading. Because of that we have a responsibility to these people.

“She’s also got her facts badly wrong which is embarrassing for her. She acts like a rent-a-quote who shoots off her mouth without knowing the facts.”

In response to being blocked on Twitter by Ms Atherton he said: “I think it’s an incredibly small-minded and petty way to respond to being challenged on policy. I’m one of many of her constituents she has blocked for doing the same.

“She prevents people from replying to her tweets, which shows how little respect she has for her constituents and is typical of the way the Tories try to dodge public scrutiny for their incompetence and their terrible policies.

In a Twitter post, Ms Atherton said: "What we are seeing on a huge scale with the boats crossing the Channel is precisely that, flagrant violations of our immigration law by economic migrants and human-trafficking gangs.

“Returning migrants who have reached the UK is not easy, as the Prime Minister has acknowledged, due to a legal framework owing to our previous EU membership, which we are still bound by until the transition period ends on December 31, 2020.

“This framework places undue power in the hands of unaccountable human rights lawyers who do not have our country’s best interests at heart.

“Until the transition period ends and we can once again reassert our sovereignty over asylum and immigration matters we must stop these boats from reaching British waters.

"UK Border Forces should receive whatever assistance is required from HM Armed Forces in this endeavour.”

Her public statement was heavily criticised for containing a number of factual errors such as mixing up the asylum system and the visa system, and misunderstanding international law.

Dan Sohege, an international refugee law specialist addressed the matter on Twitter.

He said: “An asylum seekers is entitled to seek asylum, without penalties as to manner of entry, specifically due to the circumstances necessitating their flight from persecution. This is a matter of international rather than domestic law, not EU specifically as alluded to later on.

“From start to finish this letter from @AthertonNWales is full of inaccuracies and misconceptions. I would suggest that in the genuine interests of the country it would be best for a serving MP to learn at least a basic level about the laws governing it before spouting tripe.”

In response to the PCC's remarks, Ms Atherton said: "I appreciate this is an emotive issues and not all of us will share the same opinion, which is respected.

"As a constituency MP I frequently assist people in Wrexham seeking asylum. However, what we are seeing in the Channel is little more than exploitation of vulnerable people by gang leaders, human traffickers and smugglers.

"I have been inundated with emails from constituents condemning this violation of our immigration law and the risk to human life. Indeed, the tragic death of the young man in the channel on Wednesday highlights urgency to which we must put an end to this inhumane practice, any compassionate person would agree."

She adds that nine months ago "the people of Wrexham voted decisively in favour of the Conservative immigration policy and putting an end to the UK open-door system".

The MP continues: "What is now being introduced is a sensible Australian-style points-based immigration system, ensuring people who are legitimate asylum seekers, fleeing persecution, can come here safely to live and work. What we are seeing is an abuse of the system, which is blocking the way for those in genuine need of asylum.

“We are the only G7 country to meet the 0.7 per cent aid target, and have run the largest refugee resettlement scheme in Europe over the last five years. Britain is resettling more refugees than any other EU country since 2016 proving the UK will support those who are in genuine need.”

In response to the comment on the Conservative MP's use of Twitter, she said: "The majority of constituents understand that twitter isn’t the appropriate platform to conduct business. If the Police and Crime Commissioner would like to raise his concerns with me, he can arrange a meeting by phoning my office on 020 7219 4885.”