Keir Starmer announces new Iraq security deal as he accuses Tories of running 'open borders experiment'

28 November 2024, 15:33 | Updated: 28 November 2024, 16:01

Sir Keir Starmer accused the Conservatives of running an "open borders experiment" as he pledged to bring immigration down.

Speaking at a press conference today, the Prime Minister laid the blame for Britain's historically high immigration at the feet of the Tories.

He accused the opposition of running an "open borders experiment" while in power.

As part of Labour's plan to reduce migration, the PM announced a new security deal with Iraq, designed to tackle people smuggling and organised crime networks operating across the region and in Europe.

The Prime Minister accused the Conservatives of a "different order of failure" that happened "by design not accident".

"Time and again the Conservative Party promised they would get the numbers down. Time and again they failed, and now the chorus of excuses has begun."

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He added: "A failure on this scale isn't just bad luck, it isn't a global trend or taking your eye off the ball, no this is a different order of failure.

"This happened by design not accident.

"Policies were reformed deliberately to liberalise immigration, Brexit was used for that purpose to turn Britain into a one nation experiment in open borders."

He said the deal with Iraq will tackle people smuggling upstream "before it reaches our shores".

He said: "I'm pleased to announce today a new security agreement between Iraq and the UK. This is a world first, that will help us smash the people smuggling gangs and secure our borders.

"The Home Secretary has been out in Iraq to seal this deal, and we've also announced funding for Iraqi law enforcement to tackle this problem upstream, way before it reaches our shores.

"We're also tackling the utter mess we inherited in the Home Office."

The PM pledged his government would "crack down" on mass migration, punishing any abuse of visa routes and "banning" employers who circumvent the rules from hiring overseas labour.

It comes after the ONS revealed net migration has fallen by 20% in 2024, down from record numbers the year prior.

Net migration to the UK stood at an estimated 728,000 in the year to June 2024.

This is down 20% from a record 906,000 in the year to June 2023, the Office for National Statistics said.

Net migration, which measures the difference between the number of people arriving in the UK and the number leaving, hit record highs in the year to June 2023, it has been revealed.

It comes after the ONS revised its figures for the year to June 2023, raising the figure by 166,000.

The ONS has said that while migration remains high by "historic standards", it is beginning to fall.

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The drop is "driven by declining numbers of dependants on study visas coming from outside the EU," ONS director Mary Gregory said."

This has been driven by a variety of factors, including the war in Ukraine and the effects of the post-Brexit immigration system," he said.

"Pent-up demand for study-related immigration because of travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic also had an impact."While remaining high by historic standards, net migration is now beginning to fall and is provisionally down 20% in the 12 months to June 2024.

"Over that period we have seen a fall in immigration, driven by declining numbers of dependants on study visas coming from outside the EU.

"Over the first six months of 2024, we are also seeing decreases in the number of people arriving for work-related reasons. This is partly related to policy changes earlier this year and is consistent with visa data published by Home Office.

"We are also starting to see increases in emigration, most notably for those who came to the UK on study-related visas. This is likely to be a consequence of the higher numbers of students coming to the UK post-pandemic who are now reaching the end of their courses."