Tories attack Britain's largest social housing provider for supporting controversial charity handing out freebies to Channel migrants

By RORY TINGLE, HOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT Published: 00:01, 18 August 2026 | Updated: 00:04, 18 August 2026 The Conservatives have hit out at Britain's largest social housing provider for supporting a controversial charity handing out freebies to small boat migrants.  Clarion Housing Group provides rent-free premises to Care4Calais at a shopping centre it owns in Merton, south London.  The charity hands out free goods and services to migrants waiting to cross the Channel in France and Belgium, as well as those who have already arrived in Britain.  Clarion owns 125,000 properties across the UK and said it had decided to let Care4Calais use vacant commercial space to support 'its essential work providing aid to some of the most vulnerable members of society'.  Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp urged the company to break off its partnership with the charity, which rejects the idea that small boat migrants are 'illegal' despite entering the UK without permission being forbidden under UK law.  He pointed out that Clarion is a significant provider of social housing to refugees, who are likely to include small boat migrants who have had their asylum claims accepted. 'Clarion must stop providing Care4Calais with free commercial premises immediately. Care4Calais are undermining the UK border by encouraging illegal immigration across the Channel and Clarion are complicit,' he told the Daily Mail.  'Many of these illegal immigrants are then granted asylum and given social housing, which is often provided by Clarion. It is a complete racket.' Migrants attempt to board a small boat off the coast of France last month  Shadow home secretary Chris Philp urged Clarion to break off its partnership with Care4Calais  Clarion confirmed it is supporting Care4Calais but said it was 'deeply concerned by any inference that we are profiteering from the asylum system'.  While the housing association does not have a Home Office contract to house asylum seekers, it provides social housing in more than 170 local council areas across England.  Around two per cent of social housing across the country was let to refugees in 2023-24, equivalent to around 4,100 households.  Rob Bates, Director of the Centre for Migration Control, said: 'Supporting Care4Calais directly bolsters the financial interests of Clarion. 'Once migrants exit Home Office accommodation, having been granted refugee status, they will almost invariably look to join social housing waiting lists.' Clarion – which operates on a not-for-profit basis – strongly denied the claims.  The organisation added that 'conflating our work to support a local charity doing good work is another example of the toxic reporting which is causing division and unrest in communities across the UK'. Care4Calais, which describes itself as 'a volunteer-run refugee charity working with refugees in the UK, France and Belgium', has attracted significant controversy in recent years. In 2023, its founder, Clare Moseley, resigned after a long-running Charity Commission investigation identified 'administrative misconduct' under her watch.  Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. The three-year probe highlighted examples of lax internal financial controls, governance failings, poor record keeping and complaints handling.  In a separate incident, Ms Moseley admitted to illegally carrying pepper spray in Belgium. She claimed she did so for self-defence purposes after being attacked by a migrant and said she did not know it was against the law.  The charity regularly hands out freebies to migrants who have entered Britain illegally, including thousands of SIM cards and Ramadan food packs.  Care4Calais distributed the freebies with the help of hundreds of volunteers over its 2024-25 financial year. According to its annual report, asylum seekers were also offered English language support, befriending services, haircuts and picnics. A total of 162,334 items were distributed including 2,500 SIM cards with six months of free data, received in 'partnership with Vodafone'. Other handouts the charity gave out over the 2024-25 financial year included 1,173 Ramadan food packs, 3,765 hoodies, 3,532 pairs of joggers and 1,174 t-shirts. The charity ran 80 'drop-in sessions' and 17 large-scale handout sessions at British military bases housing asylum seekers. The SIM giveaway prompted Reform UK's Zia Yusuf to threaten legal action against Vodafone and 'immediately review' the mobile network operator's public contracts.  Care4Calais handed out some 2,221 SIM cards to migrants being held at Royal Air Force base in Wethersfield, Essex In a letter to Margherita Della Valle, the chief executive of Vodafone Group, Mr Yusuf this week accused the firm of 'helping to facilitate the invasion of Britain by unvetted military-age men'.  Vodafone responded to the criticism by insisting it only handed out SIM cards to regulated charities and said all calls, texts and data were for UK use only. It comes as another 82 small boat migrants reached Britain over the weekend. Six days before, 230 migrants arrived in one single 'mega-dinghy' – setting a new record.  More than 3,000 people have made the crossing since Andy Burnham became prime minister.  Care4Calais has been contacted for comment.