Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, responding to the latest immigration figures from the ONS, said:

“David Cameron and Theresa May’s flagship immigration pledge is in shreds. 

"They promised ‘no ifs, no buts’ to get their net migration target down to the tens of thousands by the end of the Parliament, and the actual figure is over twice that. 

"By making such loud promises and failing to meet them, Theresa May and David Cameron have further eroded trust on immigration and undermined confidence in a government’s ability to address people’s concerns. 

"The Tories have delivered the worst of all worlds. They have failed on their own promise. Yet they are preventing the best and brightest overseas students coming to our universities, at the same time as illegal working is ignored, more people abscond at the border where controls aren’t strong enough and there is no action on exploitation of EU migration that undercuts wages and jobs. 

"By treating all immigration as the same and focusing only on the net migration target, the Government is failing to deliver a system that is fair for Britain or has public confidence. 

"Just 18 months ago the Home Secretary claimed she would meet her target. Just a week ago the Prime Minister claimed meeting the target was “perfectly feasible. But they have no policies to deliver it and the public know there is a huge gap between Tory rhetoric and the reality.”