Boris Johnson supports amnesty for 500,000 undocumented migrants in the UK He said Britain should examine the ‘economic advantages and disadvantages’ of allowing an amnesty

Boris Johnson has signalled his support for giving an amnesty to as many as 500,000 undocumented migrants to allow them to remain legally in the United Kingdom.

The new Prime Minister is a long-standing advocate of the move which he argues will allow long-standing UK residents to work legitimately and to pay their fair share of taxes.

He expressed sympathy for the initiative as London Mayor, although was slapped down by Theresa May when he raised the idea in a Cabinet meeting.

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‘Economic advantages and disadvantages’

Mr Johnson, making his first appearance in the Commons, told MPs that Britain should examine the “economic advantages and disadvantages” of allowing an amnesty for migrants living illegally in Britain.

He argued that it was legally “anomalous” to be theoretically committed to deporting some 500,000 law-abiding people without the proper documents.

He was speaking after the Labour MP Rupa Huq asked if he was a “man of his word” on the subject after he “courted popularity with pledging an amnesty for illegal immigrants” as London Mayor.

Mr Johnson replied: “I do think we need to look at our arrangements for people who have lived and worked here for a long time unable to enter the economy, unable to participate properly or pay taxes without documents.

“We should look at it and the truth is, the law already basically allows them an effective amnesty, that’s basically where we have settled now.”

Abandoned immigration goal

He said: “It is absolutely true that I have raised it several times since I was in government.

“I must say it didn’t receive an overwhelming endorsement from the previous Prime Minister when I put it to her when I raised it once in Cabinet.



“But I have to say I do think that our arrangements in theoretically being committed to the expulsion of perhaps half-a-million people who don’t have the correct papers and who may have been living and working here for many, many years without being involved in any criminal activity at all … I think that the legal position is anomalous and we saw the difficulties that kind of problem occasioned in the Windrush fiasco.”

Mr Johnson also effectively abandoned Mrs May’s long-standing commitment to reduce net annual migration below 100,000 as he confirmed plans to develop “an Australian-style points-based system” without a limit on migrant numbers.

The feasibility of replicating the system under which the suitability of potential migrants is assessed based on their skills, qualifications and proficiency in English will be examined by government advisers.

The move raises questions over the previous government’s existing Immigration Bill, designed to set new post-Brexit migration rules.