THE TORY government's rhetoric on asylum-seekers who cross the English Channel in small boats is intentionally divisive, The World Transformed (TWT) festival audience heard on Tuesday evening.

At a panel discussion on refugees’ need for safe passage, Fire Brigades Union (FBU) national officer Riccardo la Torre said the Tories’ language on the issue was meant to divide working people.

“It's obviously intentional,” he said, describing ministers’ rhetoric as an attempt to ensure that working-class people “keep kicking each other rather than kicking upward.

“It's a tactic that's been used throughout history,” Mr la Torre added.

He spoke of how FBU members have worked and volunteered with refugees, which allows trade unionists can convey a more realistic narrative on asylum-seekers to their colleagues than the one peddled by the Tories and much of the media.

“It's so important that we provide alternative language, alternative augments and alternative spaces to debate these issues away from [far-right and Tory rhetoric],” he said.

“While the vile, racist language is coming from the Tory Party, there's been very little positive or pro-refugee statements from Labour and the leader of the opposition.

“We have to push back on that.”