THE tenor of the debate around immigration in Britain has become cold, nasty and cruel.

Desperate people fleeing terror, rape and oppression across Africa and the Middle East are risking death in ramshackle boats to make it to Europe across the Mediterranean.

In return so-called "commentators" such as failed reality TV contestant Katie Hopkins vilify them in the Sun newspaper as "cockroaches", and call for gun boats to be used against them.

The last time the word cockroach was used to describe fellow human beings was during the Rwandan genocide when the country's Hutu media trammelled up hatred of Tutsis resulting in one million deaths.

Tory grandee Michael Portillo said this week that refugee boat people should be "dumped back on the beach in Libya". As a supposedly educated man who was once Defence Secretary one would think he would be aware that many of those beaches are now controlled by Islamic State.

You may not have heard - as most of the British press failed to report it - but the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the UK to tackle tabloid "hate speech" against immigrants on Friday. Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein singled out the Sun for specific criticism. He noted Hopkins used "language similar to that employed" in 1994 by the Rwandan media, of whom, he adds, leading figures were later convicted of incitement to commit genocide.

Hussein cites Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which states "any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law".

He went on to add: "The Nazi media described people their masters wanted to eliminate as rats and cockroaches. This type of language is clearly inflammatory and unacceptable, especially in a national newspaper. The Sun's editors took an editorial decision to publish this article, and - if it is found in breach of the law - should be held responsible along with the author."

With a caustic aside, Hussein says while immigrants are being demonised in other parts of Europe as well, that this is "usually led by extremist political parties or demagogues rather than extremist media".

We should note also Hussein's wise plea: "History has shown us the dangers of demonising foreigners and minorities." These brave people dying at sea are human beings who need our protection, support and friendship, not hatred from petty people. It is a pity upon Britain we need the UN to teach us this lesson.