ICE cream giant Ben & Jerry’s went to the University of Bolton to hand out free ice cream on Wednesday as part of an awareness campaign to give asylum seekers the right to work.

The Waiting isn’t Working campaign is the brainchild of the Lift the Ban Coalition, a group of over 50 companies working together to remove the constraints of the “Shortage Occupation list”, which restricts asylum seekers’ right to work.

Nicola Simmons, a spokesperson for Ben & Jerry’s, said “We’ve been campaigning with this message that not giving people seeking asylum the right to work just doesn’t make sense”

“Our role in this campaign is kind of speaking to our fans and trying to help them understand what the problem really is”

“We’ve been really trying to not just say ‘this is a problem, help us’ but ‘this is really what it’s like’ because I think a lot of the stuff that goes on with the plight of refugees is misunderstood a lot”

“The tour is a great chance to talk to people face-to-face, but we’ve also been on our social media”.

Bolton is the tour’s seventh stop, after visiting locations such as Cardiff and London.

It’s estimated that the tour has travelled around 2,500 miles since it began in Leeds three weeks ago.

Daniel Squirrel, a campaign manager for Ben & Jerry’s, said

“it’s hard work, but it’s certainly very enjoyable to get out and talk to a very wide group of people”

“I think a lot of people think of it as fun because that’s the brand, but aren’t necessarily aware of the heritage of doing the right thing and doing good”

Patrons are encouraged to sign an online petition which supports the campaign. Despite being only a few weeks old, the campaign has already gathered approximately 15,000 signatures (including the efforts of the whole Lift the Ban Coalition).

To sign the petition, visit https://www.refugee-action.org.uk/benandjerrys