A letter written by Joe Lycett to the former home secretary Suella Braverman has been read out at the Royal Albert Hall.
Stephen Fry gave a rendition of the communication, on behalf of Lycett, at the 10th anniversary of Letters Live – which is held in association with a charity supporting refugees.
Mrs Braverman’s name being mentioned on Thursday night attracted shouts of boos from some in the audience.
'With my newly invented company HomoHunters, I will spearhead this project'@stephenfry joins us to read @joelycett’s hilarious offer to help former Home Secretary Suella Braverman weed out asylum seekers pretending to be gay to abuse the immigration system. pic.twitter.com/6rnbUNNbpI
— Letters Live (@letterslive) November 16, 2023
Before being ousted as home secretary, the Conservative MP attracted criticism over her comments about rough sleeping being a “lifestyle choice”, people from the LGBT+ community seeking asylum in the UK and the Metropolitan Police’s managing of pro-Palestine protests.
The letter from Lycett, who has identified as pansexual, was previously revealed by the comedian in October.
Fry read it out saying: “Dear Home Secretary, I am contacting you on an urgent matter as I was very interested to read your claim that asylum seekers are attempting to abuse the immigration system by pretending to be… I too am disgusted by men pretending to be gay and think we should weed out this scourge from our society.”
He added a “radical plan” has been devised that would involve Lycett monitoring applications through setting up a company to help the Government with asylum claims.
The Lycett letter also read: “Just because you or your family have benefited from a system doesn’t mean that system should not be smashed to bits.
“For example I am vehemently against people pretending to be gay simply to achieve a better life, despite that being exactly what I did to progress in showbusiness.”
Following Fry’s rendition, there were cheers and claps from the audience.
Ahead of performances at the event, Choose Love’s chief executive Josie Naughton said: “We don’t believe in deporting people to Rwanda.”
The reference to the Government’s immigration policy attracted applause.
Earlier this month, Lycett referenced Mrs Braverman’s remarks as part of a campaign to raise £50,000, which he reached, for homelessness charity Crisis UK.
Elsewhere, Jodie Whittaker performed a letter sent by fellow Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi to a nine-year-old fan of the BBC science fiction series.
‘Everything begins again’
Jodie Whittaker joins us to read Peter Capaldi’s letter to a 9-year-old Doctor Who fan who was sad to see his favourite Time Lord leave the show. The next month, Capaldi was to be replaced by Jodie! pic.twitter.com/R0QV9QQPJm
— Letters Live (@letterslive) November 16, 2023
Whittaker had followed Capaldi in playing the Time Lord, known as the Doctor.
Benedict Cumberbatch also dramatically rendered George Bernard Shaw’s voice as he read out his letter of complaint to the Times about an opera event.
Putting on a voice, Cumberbatch as Shaw objected to a woman wearing a bird on an outfit.
Oscar winner Olivia Colman, Outlander star Tobias Menzies and Sex Education star Gillian Anderson also performed other letters.
Anderson read out American writer Anais Nin’s letter to a client who was paying her for erotic fiction.
Colman, who starred in an BBC adaption of Great Expectations, read a letter written to the corporation in which children’s author Jackie Morris objected to being asked to pay the licence fee when she had “no TV aerial”.
The actress also soliloquised a letter of complaint to a funeral parlour by novelist Lydia Davis.
American actor Woody Harrelson, who is performing in the Ulster American at the Riverside Studios in London, read letters from novelists Kurt Vonnegut and John Cheever.
The show supports Choose Love, which help refugees and displaced people.