Keir Starmer branded Nigel Farage the “enemy of national renewal” in their escalating war of words on immigration.
The Prime Minister declared Labour supporters must “fight you with everything we have” as he criticised the Reform leader’s plans to rescind migrants’ settlement rights.
And Sir Keir admitted Labour became a “party that patronised working people” over immigration.
Launching a huge attack on Mr Farage, he said: “If you say or imply that people cannot be English or British because of the colour of their skin, that mixed heritage families owe you an explanation, the people who have lived here for generations, with their children here, working in our hospitals, our schools, running businesses, if you say they should now be deported, then mark my words, we will fight you with everything we have because you are the enemy of national renewal.”
Sir Keir and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood vowed to crack down on record numbers of arrivals and end the Channel migrant crisis.
The Prime Minister said: “We had become a party that patronized working people.
“There are still some people who can’t listen in good faith on this issue, who say we can ignore the crisis in our asylum system, so long as we get the economy moving.
“I have to say to those people very directly, we will tackle this issue.
“The British people are not unreasonable. They’re pragmatic, compassionate, tolerant.
“That’s who we are. What people wanted before, that hasn’t changed.
“Secure borders are also vital for a decent, compassionate country.
“Controlling who comes here is an essential task of government, and there’s nothing compassionate or progressive in a vile trade that loads people into overcrowded boats, puts them in grave danger in the Channel, and ultimately exploits human desperation and hope.
“We will stop this. We will smash the gangs. We will crack down on illegal working, we will remove people with no right to be here, and we will secure Britain’s borders.
“But there is a line. A moral line. And it isn’t just Farage who crosses it.
“Controlling migration is a reasonable goal. But if you throw bricks and smash up private property, that’s not legitimate, that is thuggery.
“Free speech is a British value and we have guarded it for centuries. But if you incite racist violence and hatred, that is not expressing concern. That is criminal.”
