Sir Keir Starmer has set out a series of measures aimed at slashing immigration at a press conference. The Prime Minister said high net migration figures had caused “incalculable” damage to British society.

He warned the UK risks becoming an “island of strangers” without better integration. Sir Keir insisted he wanted net migration to have fallen “significantly” by the next general election – but refused to set a target number.

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But here, the Express rounds up past comments by the PM and his Cabinet about immigration.

Sir Keir demanded an immigration system “based on compassion and dignity” and argued for free movement with the EU to continue after Brexit when he was running for the Labour leadership in 2020.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner criticised calls for the NHS to be less reliant on foreigners in 2021, saying: “Our NHS would collapse without the staff who were born overseas. After all they have done for us during this pandemic, NHS staff who come to the UK to save lives and keep our hospitals going deserve a pay rise and our thanks, not this cheap xenophobia. What a slap in the face.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a 2015 speech that every city should take in 10 refugee families.

Cabinet Office boss Pat McFadden insisted in 2018 that “immigration debates dehumanise people”.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy criticised the Tories over migration in 2018, adding: “All the evidence shows both EU and non-EU migrants are hugely beneficial to the UK. Almost every politician knows this, but many are afraid to tell the truth.”

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson hit out at Tory crackdown on student visas in 2023. She said: “People come from across the world to study in Britain because our universities are among the best worldwide. We should be proud of that.”

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall in 2020 warned that proposals for a points-based immigration system and salary thresholds would have “terrible implications for social care”, adding: “his is a sector already stretched to breaking point and these proposals will only increase pressure, with all the knock on consequences for the NHS too.”

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood condemned a 2015 Conservative immigration bill over the impact on “asylum seekers at risk of destitution”.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds in 2018 raised his “fear” that “large numbers want immigration reduced without any link to economic context or labour market needs.”

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy criticised “dog-whistle politics” in 2020, saying: “We can’t play dog-whistle politics. Labour should never have committed to ending free movement alongside the Tories. We have to listen and make the case for our values- but we must understand why the anti-immigration narrative takes hold and how we can respond.”