Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, commenting on reports that the Tories will repeat their net migration pledge said:

“Who is Theresa May kidding? Even her own colleagues are saying her net migration target is in tatters. No one will believe a word she or the Prime Minister says on this, after they promised ‘no ifs, not buts’ to meet their chosen target last time, yet instead net migration is three times the level they promised. Theresa May is taking people for fools by trying the same trick again. This massive gap between Tory rhetoric and reality just undermines trust in the immigration system.

"Labour has always said having a net migration target which treats all immigration as the same was the wrong approach. We need a smarter system of controls for different kinds of migration so that we can for example benefit from overseas university students who bring billions into Britain but restrict low skilled migration. And we need much stronger enforcement of the rules to cut illegal immigration.

"Immigration is important to Britain but it needs to be controlled and managed so the system is fair. Labour has set out a series of sensible reforms to strengthen our borders, reform benefit rules so people can’t claim for up to two years and clampdown on those who exploit immigration to undercut jobs and wages.”