Rishi Sunak has insisted migrants “should sign up to British values” when they move here.
The Prime Minister, addressing criticism over Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s speech at Conservative Party conference, said the UK should be proud of its multiculturalism.
But he said there is an “enormous sense of frustration that there are tens of thousands of migrants who have come here illegally over the last couple of years.
Mr Sunak told ITV’s This Morning: “When people do come here they should integrate, they should sign up to British values so we have that shared understanding amongst us.
“I think we also all agree that it should be us who decides who comes here, not criminal gang
“Illegal migration isn’t right, not least because people are being exploited and die when they make these crossings, but also because we’re a compassionate country who wants to welcome people here, we’re not going to be able to do that if our system is overloaded with people who have jumped the queue, and that’s why I want to be able to stop the boats.”
Asked if he was embarrassed or ashamed when he heard Home Secretary Suella Braverman talk about a “hurricane” of mass migration, Mr Sunak said he thinks the “debate gets charged a lot” before telling ITV’s This Morning: “If you just take a step back, what do I think we all agree on? We all agree that Britain is an incredibly welcoming place.
“We’re all living proof of the fact that immigrants can come here, do well and that’s something I think we do better than any country in the world.
“I think that is something we can be incredibly proud of as Brits.”
The Prime Minister said some 25,000 migrants who have arrived in the UK have been “exploited”, putting “unsustainable pressure” on Britain’s broken asylum system.
Taxpayers are shelling out £8 million-per-day on migrant hotel room
