Ben & Jerry’s slam Priti Patel for having a ‘lack of humanity' over her treatment of refugees

You know things are bad when even ice cream brands are furious at the British government...

Ben & Jerry's (purveyors of the most delicious ice cream on Earth) have sparked debate after launching a furious attack on the government’s treatment of refugees.

Addressing Home Secretary Priti Patel directly, the ice cream brand said: “people cannot be illegal”.

The thread was in response to Home Office plans to stop people crossing the English Channel in boats. Patel’s rhetoric in particular has been controversial and a shocking YouGov poll revealed that 73 per cent of Tory voters don’t feel sympathy for the people crossing the Channel in this dangerous way.

The ice cream brand insisted “stronger borders aren’t the answer” and urged ministers to talk to “expert organisations”, including charity Refugee Action.

People on social media praised the thread, which quickly went viral. However, according to the BBC, a Home Office source swiftly hit back at the brand, labelling it “overpriced junk food”.

They said: "Priti is working day and night to bring an end to these small boat crossings, which are facilitated by international criminal gangs and are rightly of serious concern to the British people.

If that means upsetting the social media team for a brand of overpriced junk food, then so be it.

This isn’t the first time Ben & Jerry's have got political. Its parent company Unilever recently participated in a boycott of Facebook over its alleged inaction over hate speech.

Yet in response to the thread, Ben & Jerry's has also been accused of "virtue signalling" online after it emerged that migrant workers in Vermont were forced to take on the ice cream company in court to secure better working conditions in 2018.