CLA · On the Record
Political commentator and public speaker
“Make no mistake, these migrants are like cockroaches.”
Context
Hopkins wrote the comparison in a 2015 Sun column about migrants crossing the Mediterranean. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights subsequently condemned the language as part of sustained anti-foreigner abuse in sections of the British press.
Evidence
Source: The Sun column, reproduced by ITV News
Evidence status: Established-media reproduction of an authored newspaper column.
Legal status: Published speech. Press complaints alleging discrimination were rejected by IPSO because the rule applied to identifiable individuals, not groups.
Last reviewed: 7 October 2026
About On the Record
On the Record publishes only statements whose discriminatory or exclusionary proposition is clear from the words themselves. Inclusion is not an allegation of illegality. We publish the source, context and legal status so readers can judge the evidence themselves.
Source checked · Context preserved · Evidence available.
Responses and outcomes
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