Gaddafi Good For Britain, Says UKIP's Reckless

Muammar Gaddafi was good for immigration control - and helped contain the number of North Africans heading for Britain, UKIP's Mark Reckless has said.

Mr Reckless said helping to remove the dictator from power had been one of David Cameron's biggest mistakes.

The former MP, who defected from the Conservative Party in September and hopes to give Mr Cameron a bloody nose at the Rochester by-election this month, said thousands of migrants were coming over from Libya by boat to Italy.

He said they were being "waved through Italy" and then headed for Calais to cross the Channel for Britain.

Mr Reckless was speaking at a public meeting in Rochester, where UKIP is hoping to win its second seat in the House of Commons. The issue of immigration is becoming a key battleground of the General Election.

He said: "Whatever people say about Gaddafi, one thing is he didn't allow those boats to come across.

"He had an agreement with Italy that stopped it. Since he's gone we've no idea what's going on in Libya, it's too dangerous for anyone to go there."

He said that since Gaddafi's regime had fallen the "bad guys" were being replaced by "even worse guys".

He added: "We bombed them, that's what we did. That's how this government helped Libya. It got rid of somebody, albeit an Arab nationalist dictator, who actually gave a level of stability to the area."

His comments come as a report by University College London found immigrants from outside the EU have cost the UK £118bn in the 17 years to 2011.

Last year 40,000 migrants, most from Syria, Eritrea and Somalia, crossed from the shores of North Africa to Europe, many in dangerous wooden boats.

In October last year 359 people were killed when a boat making the crossing sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Italy has asked for extra funding to help it deal with the influx and warned earlier this year that as many as 600,000 people were preparing to make the journey from North Africa.

The numbers crossing have increased significantly since the Middle East crisis unfolded and it is estimated around 20% of those coming from North Africa end up in Britain.

The Government was criticised last week for its decision to stop rescuing migrants who were pitched into the sea, saying it would help to deter those thinking of making the decision.