A heated exchange broke out on GB News as political commentator Matthew Stadlen and Reform Councillor Russell Quirk clashed over the UK's illegal migration crisis. The debate followed the Home Office's announcement that it is distributing guides to asylum seekers, instructing them not to rape women and warning that sex with children is illegal in the United Kingdom.
Quirk Cites Conviction Data
During the discussion, Russell Quirk pointed out that around 3,600 foreign nationals were convicted of sexual assault between 2020 and 2024. He remarked: "That means at least 3,600 women and girls in this country were raped by foreign nationals. Are you going to defend that?"
Matthew Stadlen fired back: "Not a single person watching this show would defend rape unless they're a rapist. How dare you suggest to me that I'm somehow attempting to defend a rapist."
Stadlen Accuses Quirk of Deflection
Stadlen went on to claim that Britain is being taken back to the "dark days of 1970s racism" after Reform MP Lee Anderson described a group of small boat migrants as "savages." As Quirk attempted to interject, Stadlen demanded: "Let me finish! How dare you say that we welcome all these people with open arms and what do they do instead? They come and rape our women and children."
He added that it is a "tiny percentage" of men who commit these "evil crimes." When Stadlen attempted to support his argument with evidence from recent data, Quirk argued it was not fact and instead just a survey.
Data Dispute Over Sexual Assault
Stadlen said: "Roughly 16 per cent of people in this country over 16 have experienced sexual assault since the age of 16. Of the victims of rape and assault, victims that we all care about, and I care every single bit as much about them as you do I can assure you, over half of those victims were assaulted by their partner or ex-partner."
He raged: "We have a crisis in this country of violence against women and girls, but all you want to talk about are victims of migrants and asylum seekers." Quirk began to interject, prompting presenter Dawn Neesom to urge them to speak one at a time.
Quirk Defends His Position
The politician fumed: "My turn. What you are doing is what you and your kind always do. Rather than arguing over the specific issue which is the fact that we have 40,000 people or so coming over here on boats that are undocumented and unknown, the fact that Afghan men are far more likely to commit sexual offences, based on government data."
He claimed the same goes for men from Kenya, Iraq and Iran. "All you want to talk about is the problem that also exists already," Quirk argued. The pair continued speaking over each other as Quirk declared: "What you're deflecting from is the fact that foreign nationals who come here are more likely to rape our women and girls and you're not even seeking to defend it, you're deflecting it."
Stadlen retorted: "You have not got the evidence for that. You tried to dismiss my data. Your data is incomplete."
