The BBC's decision to film a special edition of 'Songs Of Praise' from Calais' biggest migrant camp has inflamed opinions, with critics branding the move "insensitive" while others say it could help humanize the crisis.
Crews for the TV program have been filming at a church in the so-called 'Jungle', a sprawling encampment home to thousands hoping to reach Britain.
A woman enters the site of a church in a make shift camp near the port of Calais on July 31, 2015 in Calais, France. Strike action and daily attempts by hundreds of migrants to enter the Channel Tunnel and onto trains heading to the United Kingdom is causing delays to passenger and freight services across the channel. British Prime Minster David Cameron has announced that extra sniffer dogs and fencing are to be sent to Calais and land owned by the Ministry of Defence is to be used as a lorry park to ease congestion near the port of Dover in Kent.
Andrew Rosindell, MP for Romford, told The Sun on Thursday: "This is an insensitive thing to do. We are facing a grave crisis.
"The BBC should be careful not to start looking as if they are making political points out of this."
Others against the idea took to Twitter to voice their disquiet.
Giles Fraser, a former St Paul's Cathedral cannon who is also involved in the contentious episode, posted pictures of some scenes the production team had encountered in their pursuit of filming the new episode.
The decision to film 'Songs of Praise' from Calais comes amid an unprecedented surge in migrants attempting to cross the Channel and enter Britain.
A former British ambassador to France has warned there is no "magic solution" to current migrant crisis, and said the issues should be seen in the context of an overall surge in migration into Europe.
Sir John Holmes, who held the post between 2001 and 2007, said: "Although it's a very difficult problem and causes a lot of obstacles and complications, it is a relatively small part of a much bigger problem which is the number of people trying to get illegally into Europe from the Middle East and North Africa."
