Keir doubles down on migration pledge as new raft of small boats arrive hours after ‘take back borders’ promise
LEFT-WING Labour MPs have attacked Sir Keir Starmer for warning Britain would become “an island of strangers” due to mass migration.
The PM today faced down a growing backbench revolt over his measures to curb arrivals by 100,000 each year.
He doubled down as a poll showed that immigration is the most pressing concern for voters – even more than the economy.
And both Tories and Reform criticised Sir Keir for not going far enough nor appreciating that the country has already been changed irrevocably by a soaring population.
It came as more small boat migrants were seen being taken ashore by Border Force – with the number of Channel crossings passing 12,000 for the year.
Children were among around 130 migrants brought into Dover on Border Force vessel Ranger at 1pm.
They are believed to have been rescued from two small boats. It takes the tally so far today to at least 200 migrants on four boats.
Border Force ship Defender was still out at sea – suggesting there may be another successful crossing before it turns windy in the Channel.
The PM’s remarks yesterday that rampant migration risked the UK becoming “an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together”.
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan hit out at the language used by the PM when asked about him using the terms including “a squalid chapter” and an “island of strangers”.
He told LBC Radio: “Well, those are those aren’t words that I’d use.”
He also said: “Well, look, the sort of language that I use is different to the sort of language used by others. That’s not the sort of words that I would use.”
The PM’s words were met with fury from some Labour MPs, with Abtisam Mohamed blasting: “Sheffield Central is not ‘an island of strangers.’
“We are a mosaic of neighbours, friends and families from across the world. We all cooperate and contribute to our community.”
Fellow MP Nadia Whittome piled in: “To suggest that Britain risks becoming ‘an island of strangers’ because of immigration mimics the scaremongering of the far-right.”
Some even compared his language to that of Enoch Powell, whose Rivers of Blood speech warned people would find themselves “strangers in their own country”.
Downing Street today categorically denied Sir Keir was making a reference to the infamous 1968 speech, but stood by the remarks.
Staring down squeamish Labour MPs, the PM’s spokesman said: “The Prime Minister has made his arguments, which he obviously stands behind.
“The public rightly expect the government to bring order and control back to the immigration system, something that was lost under the previous government.”
Tory Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said Britain was “already an island of strangers” and that yesterday’s crackdown was too timid.
The former Immigration Minister told Times Radio: “I think it’s true. In fact, I think in some places we already are. Aggressive levels of mass migration have made us more divided.”
A YouGov poll today found that the public view immigration as their number one issue – rising to the highest level since the 2016 Brexit vote.
It has overtaken the economy as the most pressing concern, and is well ahead of the NHS and crime.