Sir Keir Starmer has accused Reform UK of promoting a “racist” policy on immigration.
Nigel Farage’s party has pledged to scrap settled status for all non-EU migrants, requiring those who have been granted indefinite leave to remain to re-apply under much stricter rules.
The Prime Minister said the policy “needs to be called out for what it is”, as he spoke to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.
This comes after the Home Secretary said she wants to tighten rules around claiming indefinite leave to remain and “make sure that people are making a contribution to their wider community and wider society”.
Indefinite leave to remain is the status which grants legal migrants the ability to settle in the UK without the need to renew a visa every few years.
Sir Keir said: “It is one thing to say we’re going to remove illegal migrants, people who have no right to be here. I’m up for that.
“It is a completely different thing to say we are going to reach in to people who are lawfully here and start removing them. They are our neighbours.”
Asked directly about Reform UK’s policy, he said: “I do think that it is a racist policy. I do think it is immoral. It needs to be called out for what it is.”
Pressed on whether Reform is trying to appeal to racists, Sir Keir said: “No, I think there are plenty of people who either vote Reform or are thinking of voting Reform who are frustrated.
“They had 14 years of failure under the Conservatives, they want us to change things.
“They may have voted Labour a year ago, and they want the change to come more quickly. I actually do understand that.”
Speaking to The Sun On Sunday, Ms Mahmood said ministers are looking at how to make sure indefinite leave to remain “is linked not just to the job you are doing”, but also “the wider contribution you are making to our communities”.
She said: “We need legal migration, it is a good thing. We are a country that has always welcomed people who want to come and work here.
“But I think in addition to living and working here there is a bigger thing to do as well which is to make sure that people are making a contribution to their wider community and wider society.”
Sir Keir also pledged to put an end to taxpayer-funded taxis for asylum seekers travelling to doctor’s appointments “as soon as we can”.
Additionally, the Prime Minister said he hopes to “bring forward” the 2029 deadline set by the Government to close all asylum hotels.
“I’m looking at alternative accommodation and doing everything we can to bring that forward,” he said.
