Nigel Farage erupted at Sir Keir Starmer after he admitted he “deeply” regrets warning that Britain risked becoming an “island of strangers” because of mass immigration. The Prime Minister said it “wasn’t right” to use that “particular phrase” in a speech last month that sparked outrage from some on the left.
But the Reform UK leader took aim at Sir Keir for backtracking over the comments. He wrote on X: “This is absolute proof that Keir Starmer has no beliefs, no principles and just reads from a script. This country needs a leader who has vision.”
Left-wing critics drew comparisons between Sir Keir’s comments and right-wing politician Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of Blood” speech where he said Britain’s white population would be “strangers in their own country”.
The Prime Minister told The Observer: “I wouldn’t have used those words if I had known they were, or even would be interpreted as an echo of Powell.
“I had no idea – and my speechwriters didn’t know either.
“But that particular phrase – no – it wasn’t right. I’ll give you the honest truth: I deeply regret using it.”
He added that he should he should have read through the speech properly and “held it up to the light a bit more”.
Sir Keir made the remarks in a speech last month while unveiling new measures aimed at bringing down immigration.
He said: “Let me put it this way – nations depend on rules, fair rules. Sometimes they are written down, often they are not, but either way, they give shape to our values, guide us towards our rights, of course, but also our responsibilities, the obligations we owe to each other.
“In a diverse nation like ours … we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.”
No 10 had previously insisted that the Prime Minister stood by his words.