PM says asylum resettlement and family reunion rights will end

“We have been criticised in this country for being too generous - creating a pull factor. We will reduce the pull factors,” the source added.

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The policies are a riposte to Reform UK’s plans announced last week to strip the status of indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from hundreds of thousands of non-EU citizens who already have it and to force them to reapply for visas under stricter criteria.

Starmer is under intense pressure from within his own party to fight back against the growing electoral threat of Nigel Farage’s party.

Ahead of the European Political Community (EPC) summit today, where leaders will discuss how to tackle illegal migration, Starmer said: “We're making fundamental changes to what those granted asylum are afforded in the UK. Settlement must be earned by contributing to our country, not by paying a people smuggler to cross the Channel in a boat.

“The UK will continue to play its role in welcoming genuine refugees fleeing persecution. But we must also address the pull factors driving dangerous and illegal small boats crossings. There will be no golden ticket to settling in the UK, people will have to earn it.”