Sir Keir Starmer was yesterday accused of having ‘no plan’ for reducing migration as he dodged questions about it in the wake of the riots. The Prime Minister was asked whether now was the time to acknowledge ‘underlying tensions’ in communities over record migration levels in recent years.
But during a visit to a mosque in Solihull, Birmingham, he failed to answer the question, simply saying: ‘The first priority is safety and security of our communities.
‘I was very keen that we were able to demonstrate that if you’re involved in disorder, within days you’ll be in the criminal justice system and with some people starting long terms of imprisonment.’
But Sir John Hayes, a former Tory security minister, said the PM needed to tackle the issue head on by setting out how he intends to stop small boat Channel crossings while also reducing net legal migration from the 685,000 it hit last year.
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He said: ‘There’s been too much immigration in this country for too long and a huge proportion of the population knows that. So there are underlying tensions, fears and problems. And now that the thuggery and crime seems to have abated, we need to have a measured national conversation about that and I’m amazed that that’s not recognised by the Government.’
Sir Keir Starmer was yesterday accused of having ‘no plan’ for reducing migration as he dodged questions about it in the wake of the riots
Sir Keir speaks to faith leaders in Solihull. It was during a visit to a mosque in Solihull, Birmingham , that he failed to answer questions about migration, simply saying: ‘The first priority is safety and security of our communities
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper praised a ‘really strong’ response to the riots from police and the criminal justice system, saying: ‘We said from the start that criminals, thugs, would pay the price for the kind of violence and disorder we have seen on the streets’
Sir John Hayes, a former Tory security minister, said the PM needed to tackle the issue head on by setting out how he intends to stop small boat Channel crossings
It emerged this week that 4,000 small boat migrants have reached Britain since Labour came to power and scrapped the Rwanda deportation scheme. The figures appear to show that former PM Rishi Sunak was right when he claimed that migrants were ‘queueing up’ in Calais waiting for a Labour government to scrap the Tories’ flagship immigration policy.
Sir Keir also came under fresh pressure yesterday to cancel his summer holiday plans as a poll showed that a majority of the public think he should.
The YouGov survey found seven in ten think the PM shouldn’t go on holiday in the coming days amid the continued fallout from the far-Right riots. Sir Keir said that ‘we don’t want to let up here’ during yesterday’s visit when asked about ongoing efforts to ensure the unrest doesn’t flare up again, suggesting he may cancel his break.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper praised a ‘really strong’ response to the riots from police and the criminal justice system, saying: ‘We said from the start that criminals, thugs, would pay the price for the kind of violence and disorder we have seen on the streets.’
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