Labour will make UK a 'magnet for every illegal migrant in Europe'

• Tories hope the PM's tough line on illegal immigration wins back voters 

Labour will make Britain a 'magnet for every illegal migrant in Europe' if it wins the next election, Rishi Sunak warned last night.

The Prime Minister told a Conservative election campaign rally that Sir Keir Starmer's migration policies would be 'a de facto amnesty for asylum seekers'.

'Just look at our plan to cut migration and stop the boats with our Rwanda scheme,' he told Tory activists in east London.

'Across Europe, the penny is dropping that ours is the right approach.

'But if Labour become the next government, they'll scrap the Rwanda scheme and enact a de facto amnesty for asylum seekers, making us a magnet for every illegal immigrant in Europe.

Rishi Sunak has warned Labour will make Britain a 'magnet for every illegal migrant in Europe' if it wins the next election

Tory chiefs say the Opposition has no plan to deal with Channel crossings and will effectively create an amnesty for 115,000 illegal migrants by halting the Rwanda scheme (Migrants pictured in May crossing the Channel)

'In every way, Labour would make our country less secure.'

Rwanda is expected to be one of the key dividing lines in the election campaign.

The Conservatives want to get the first deportation flights off to East Africa before polling day to show Mr Sunak's pledge to 'stop the boats' is becoming a reality.

They will hope the Prime Minister's tough line on illegal immigration wins back voters who were considering backing the upstart Reform UK party instead.

And Tory chiefs say the Opposition has no plan to deal with Channel crossings and will effectively create an amnesty for 115,000 illegal migrants by halting the Rwanda scheme.

Sir Keir recently said he would create a new Border Security Command to tackle people-smuggling gangs, and would seek a new returns agreement with France.

Mr Sunak told the Mail this week on a trip to Austria – whose chancellor hailed the UK as a 'pioneer' in using third countries to tackle illegal migration: 'It's clear that we're leading in Europe, and Keir Starmer wants to make us the soft touch of Europe when it comes to migration.

'Not only is Labour going to grant an amnesty to illegal migrants, that is also going to mean thousands more will want to come.

The Prime Minister told a Conservative election campaign rally that Sir Keir Starmer 's migration policies would be 'a de facto amnesty for asylum seekers'

The number of arrivals of 2,600 more than the total counted at this time last year

Last year, there were 67,337 asylum applications to the UK. Of those, 29,437 came from people who arrived in small boats

'All Keir Starmer wants to do is give people more incentives to come to the UK.'

He also referred to the topic in his speech outside No 10 yesterday, saying: 'Immigration is finally coming down and we will stop the boats with our Rwanda partnership.'

Tory sources told the Mail last night that the plan is still for the first deportation flight to take off by July. However, there are still several hurdles to clear including last-minute legal challenges.

Ministers also believe attempts to cut legal migration to the UK are working. Provisional data highlighted by the Home Office yesterday showed the number of foreign people moving to the UK to work or study has fallen by 25 per cent – to 175,500 in the first four months of 2024 from 235,400 in the same period last year.

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