‘One nation experiment in open borders!’ Starmer points finger at Badenoch as he takes furious immigration swipe
Keir Starmer launched a blistering attack on Kemi Badenoch today during Prime Minister’s Questions over her stance on immigration.
The heated exchange began after Badenoch questioned why cutting immigration was not among Starmer’s priorities.
The clash comes as Britain grapples with historically high migration figures and increased pressure to address both legal and illegal immigration channels.
Speaking during PMQ’s Kemi Badenoch said: “Lets talk about immigration. He has relaunched, yet again, many new targets and six milestones and five missions but why was cutting immigration not a priority?”
Starmer fired back: “I’m glad she now wants to talk about immigration. Last week she said she didn’t, for good reason because the previous government presided over record high levels of immigration.
“The figures just a few weeks ago, nearly a million on net migration. That is unprecedented. A one nation experiment in open borders under the last government and she was the champion.
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“She stood up and praised the-then Tory home Secretary for listening to her on removing caps on migration visas. So she was applauding it.
“Now she’s furious about what she was campaigning for.
“We will drive it down. We will drive down lawful migration. We’ll drive down illegal ownership.”
Net legal migration has reached historically high levels, with estimates showing 728,000 for the year to June 2024.
Additionally, nearly 34,000 undocumented migrants have reached British shores across the English Channel this year alone.
The situation has become increasingly critical, with 2024 marking the deadliest year on record as at least 70 people have lost their lives attempting crossings.
This comes as the UK and Germany have now agreed to enhance intelligence sharing.
The new UK-German agreement will strengthen operational capabilities to tackle migrant smuggling and trafficking.
Germany has also pledged to clarify its laws, making it explicitly criminal to smuggle migrants to the UK.
The Home Office confirmed the joint plan will improve intelligence sharing to disrupt illicit financial flows.
German ambassador Miguel Berger noted that many smuggling networks operating from Belarus through Poland to Germany were also responsible for Channel crossings.