Immigrants comments wrong - Fallon

27 October 2014 Last updated at 09:11

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has said he "misspoke" when warning that some areas of the UK could be "swamped" by immigrants without changes to European Union rules on movement.

He told BBC Radio 5 live he had "used words I wouldn't normally have used".

His comments came after Germany appeared to rule out David Cameron's plan to limit EU arrivals in the UK.

Labour called the remark "desperate", while the Liberal Democrats said they were "not based on the facts".

The prime minister is preparing to face MPs later on Monday to discuss last week's EU leaders' summit, during which the UK was told it must pay an extra £1.7bn a year to the 28-member group. Mr Cameron has refused to do so.

His Conservative Party is facing a difficult by-election in Rochester and Strood, Kent, called after one of its MPs, Mark Reckless, defected to the anti-EU UK Independence Party.

'Under siege'

Mr Cameron is likely to face tough questions from Conservative MPs over immigration when he speaks in the Commons from 15:30 GMT.

Official figures published in August showed UK net migration - the difference between those entering and leaving - went up by more than 38% to 243,000 in 2013-14, with EU citizens accounting for two-thirds of the growth.

It has been reported the UK could seek to apply an "emergency brake" to stop EU migration after it reached a certain level or to limit the number of National Insurance numbers issued to new arrivals.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to rule this out, saying there could not be "tampering" with the EU principle of free movement of people.

This prompted Mr Fallon to say parts of the UK felt "under siege" from migrant workers and overseas benefit claimants and that some could be "swamped".

Labour and the Liberal Democrats criticised the comments and a government source said: "He accepts he should have chosen his words better."

'Careless'

Mr Fallon confirmed this, telling BBC Radio 5 live: "I misspoke yesterday, I used words I wouldn't normally have used."

Speaking to the BBC News Channel, he added: "I was a little careless in the words I used yesterday. I accept that.

"What I meant was there's huge pressure on the system now, on schools, housing and social services."

For Labour, shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said Mr Fallon's claim that communities were being "swamped" reflected "the desperation of the Conservative Party". "You have got to be responsible always in the language that you use around issues of immigration," he told Sky News.

Lib Dem Energy Secretary Ed Davey said: "I've worked with Michael Fallon and I really respect him but I think those comments are more based on the Conservative concerns of the UKIP threat in the Rochester by-election than they are based on the facts."

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Immigrants comments wrong - Fallon

Dengan url

http://gayabugarsehat.blogspot.com/2014/10/immigrants-comments-wrong-fallon.html

Hidup Bugar