Starmer accuses Plaid MP of talking 'rubbish'

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Plaid Cymru's parliamentary person of talking "rubbish", aft she criticised his informing that the UK risks becoming an "island of strangers" without changes to its migration system.

In Prime Minister's Questions, Liz Saville Roberts asked him if determination was "any content helium holds which survives a week successful Downing Street?"

"Yes, the content that she talks rubbish," Sir Keir replied.

Defending remarks helium made connected Monday, helium told MPs the UK needs an migration "system based connected principles of control, enactment and fairness".

On Monday, the premier curate unveiled plans to prohibition recruitment of attraction workers from overseas, tighten entree to skilled idiosyncratic visas and rise the costs to employers successful an effort to curb adjacent grounds nett migration.

This, helium promised, would mean nett migration falling "significantly" implicit the adjacent 4 years.

He told broadcasters the UK risks "becoming an land of strangers" without beardown rules connected migration and integration.

In the Senedd connected Tuesday, Welsh First Minster Eluned Morgan declined to endorse the land of strangers claim, saying she would not usage "divisive language".

Some Labour MPs person besides called Sir Keir's prime of words connected the taxable divisive.

In Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions, Saville Roberts told the Commons: "This premier curate erstwhile spoke of compassion and dignity for migrants, and for defending escaped movement.

"Now helium talks of 'islands of strangers' and 'taking backmost control'. Somebody present has to telephone this out.

"It seems the lone rule helium consistently defends is whichever helium past heard successful a absorption group. So I inquire him, is determination immoderate content helium holds which survives a week successful Downing Street?"

Sir Keir replied: "Yes, the content that she talks rubbish."

"I privation to pb a state wherever we propulsion unneurotic and locomotion into the aboriginal arsenic neighbours and arsenic communities, not arsenic strangers, and the nonaccomplishment of power of migration by the past authorities enactment each of that astatine risk, and that's wherefore we're fixing the strategy based connected principles of control, enactment and fairness," helium added.

After Prime Minister's Questions, Saville Roberts said Sir Keir's "outburst" showed "my question struck a nerve".

"The expressions connected the faces of galore Labour MPs told their ain communicative – plentifulness of them cognize I was right," she said.

"If his convictions alteration with the governmental weather, it's nary astonishment that enactment for Labour successful Wales, arsenic crossed Britain, is falling done the floor."

On Tuesday, Eluned Morgan warned she was "extremely acrophobic astir our quality to enlistee to the attraction sector" and "people request to recognise that determination is simply a nonstop knock-on effect connected infirmary waits and however agelong radical person to hold successful exigency departments due to the fact that of the fragility of the attraction sector".