Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, responding to today’s immigration figures, said:

“David Cameron and Theresa May must now admit that their net migration target is in tatters and they have utterly broken their grand immigration promises.

“David Cameron promised “no ifs, no buts” that net migration would fall to the tens of thousands. Instead it has gone up by nearly 70,000 in the last year.

“Time and again Theresa May has boasted that she has cut net migration by a third. Yet the truth is that net migration is now the same as it was when she came to office in 2010.

“This massive gap between Government rhetoric and the reality, as well as no serious action to tackle the root causes of anxiety about immigration, is destroying public trust and confidence.

“The Government’s net migration target has been a failure from the start. It treats all legal migration as the same, but ignores illegal immigration altogether where much more action is needed.”

“Fewer people are being caught after absconding, e-borders has been a costly failure, fewer foreign criminals have been deported and fewer dodgy employers have been punished. Nothing is being done about employers bringing in cheap foreign labour to undercut local wages. And at the same time foreign students starting university courses are being targeted so we don’t get the investment and skills we need.

“We need to tackle the root causes of people’s concerns. Labour will bring in stronger border controls with exit checks so that visas can be enforced to tackle illegal immigration, much stronger action against exploitation that undercuts wages and responsible businesses, and different targets and controls for different kinds of immigration.

“People are worried about the impact of immigration. But the Government’s false promises and empty rhetoric are simply increasing public concerns rather than addressing them with practical policies. It’s time for Theresa May and David Cameron admit their promises are now in shreds and rethink their failing approach.”