Starmer doubles down on 'island of strangers' remarks

Sir Keir Starmer has doubled down on his inflammatory comments on immigration as Labour backlash over the language he used grows.

- DAVID MADDOX, ARCHIE MITCHELL

The prime minister’s warning that Britain is becoming an “island of strangers” as a result of migration has sparked alarm with claims that it was almost word for word as a line from Enoch Powell’s infamous “rivers of blood” speech in 1968 that whipped up a frenzy of anti-immigration hatred across the UK.

Downing Street has denied that any comparisons should be made with the right-wing Tory, who is a political hero of Nigel Farage, and the prime minister has already denied that his hardline approach on immigration is a reaction to Reform UK’s surge in popularity and crushing Labour in the recent local elections.

A spokesperson for the prime minister insisted that Sir Keir “absolutely stands by” his language, including claims that mass immigration has done “incalculable damage” to the British economy.

He added: “We have set out a number of priorities, getting net migration down is one of those. The PM made his argument in his own language.”

But veteran Labour MP and anti-racism campaigner Diane Abbott, a former shadow home secretary, has led the latest wave of criticism from Labour’s backbenches against Sir Keir’s stance.

Ms Abbott, a long-term critic of the prime minister and ally of former leader Jeremy Corbyn, said: “This was a shameful day in British politics and a shameful day for the Labour Party. It will not end well for either.”

The prime minister was also not helped by his home secretary, Yvette Cooper, repeatedly refusing to use the same language as him on the morning broadcast round.