JK Rowling has taken to Twitter to launch a stinging attack on the Daily Express's front page, which features a critical story about the BBC filming an episode of Songs of Praise at the Calais migrant camp.
The Harry Potter author criticised the paper's owner, media mogul and Ukip donor Richard Desmond, for its outrage over news the BBC will air clips for this week's programme.
In a post on Twitter, the writer said: "Newspaper owned by man who got rich peddling pornography condemns the BBC for filming migrants singing hymns."
She was quickly joined by other users who waded into the debate, some accusing the Express of using violent language against migrants.
Even the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, chipped in, quoting a famous passage from the book of Matthew, chapter 18 verse 20.
The Express declined to comment.
Tuesday's latest fiery criticism has once again proven immigration to be a salient topic to Britons.
After the storm that erupted when David Cameronreferred to migrants in Calais as a "swarm", the issue of migration into the UK continues to prove a divisive one.
But research continues to show there is a substantial gap between what the public thinks to be true and what the reality of the situation is.
We've compiled nine of the most surprising facts about UK immigration to help bust some of those myths, with research by Bloomberg.
9 Surprising Facts About Immigration
(01 of09)
Open Image ModalForeign-born residents make up almost 16 percent of the 31 million-strong labour force.Of the total number of overseas workers, 60% were born outside the EU. 16% are from western Europe, while 15% are from eastern Europe. The two poorest EU countries, Romania and Bulgaria, accounted for 3.8% of workers.
(02 of09)
Open Image ModalIn fact, the British public overestimates the share of immigrants in the total population: Respondents to a poll by Ipsos MORI earlier this year guessed it was 21%. The actual figure is 13%, according to the UK's Office of National Statistics.
(03 of09)
Open Image ModalImmigration has risen significantly in the last 20 years, spiking most recently after a decade of stability.
(04 of09)
Open Image ModalThe UK isn’t the largest EU port of call for migrants.
(05 of09)
Open Image ModalAnd despite all the talk about “Polish plumbers” and Ukip leader Nigel Farage’s call to leave the EU to “regain control” over the country’s borders, most people vying to settle in Britain come from outside the trading bloc. The top two arriving nationalities are in fact Chinese and Indian.
(06 of09)
Open Image Modal(07 of09)
Open Image ModalWhile legal foreign residents are eligible for social welfare, 93% of the 5.3 million people claiming aid, such as jobseekers’ allowance and disability benefits, have British nationality.
(08 of09)
Open Image ModalThree EU nationalities are among the top 10 benefit claimants of foreign birth.
(09 of09)
Open Image ModalSeventy-six percent of Romanians and Bulgarians who arrived in the U.K. last year came for work. That compares with 61% of people from the original 15 EU members and 67% of people from the eight eastern European countries that joined the bloc in 2004. Popular perceptions are different: In a report analyzing language used by 19 British national newspapers in the two years preceding the lifting of a seven-year ban on employment, Oxford University’s Migration Observatory said that words used to describe Romanians frequently evoked crime and anti-social behavior, especially in the tabloid press.