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A Tory MP has given an awkward interview on immigration in which he referred to Channel Four presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy as "people like you".

Sir Roger Gale appeared on Channel Four News last night to talk about the problems facing the Windrush generation with Labour's Chuka Umunna.

But the veteran Tory insisted on talking about the problems of illegal immigrants - regardless of the fact that the people who came to the UK in the post war period are British citizens.

And he accused Krishnan Guru-Murthy of not wanting to talk about illegal immigration.

Sir Roger said: "I have a significant number of legal migrants in my constituency, they work in the hospitals, they work in old people's homes, they work on the land, they make a significant contribution to the community, they are legal migrants."

Mr Guru-Murthy asked: "Why do you see them as legal migrants?"

But Sir Roger replied: "You've had your say let me have mine. I understand that you don't want to talk about illegal migrants.

"The fact of the matter is that the illegal migrants and those that traffic them cause misery they lead to in some cases modern slavery and they damage the cause of legal migrants.

"And it's time that people like you understood that."

Mr Guru-Murthy replied: "What do you mean by people like me?"

Sir Roger replied: "I mean precisely what you said because you told me you didn't want to talk about it.

Mr Guru-Murthy asked again: "I'm not sure what you mean by people like me."

Sir Roger answered: "I mean people like you as a television reporter."

"It's not because I'm Asian, is it?" Mr Guru-Murthy asked.

"I couldn't care less what colour, class or creed you are," Sir Roger replied.

Viewers posting on Twitter called Mr Gale 'disgraceful' for his comments on Mr Guru-Murthy and for turning discussion on Windrush into a "rant about illegal immigration".

Chuka Umunna, who represents the multicultural constituency of Streatham in South London, said the debate around immigration in the UK has been "toxic".

"Immigrants have always been a convenient dumping ground for blame."

And he said that the rhetoric had consequences.

He said: "You end up with the absurdity where you have a prime minister since she has been prime minister refusing to temporarily lift the number of visas granted under tier 2 of the immigration system to allow more doctors and clinicians to come to this country to staff the NHS which has staff shortages. That is the absurdity."

Mr Umunna, who has raised the plight of a Windrush descendant who has struggled to get cancer treatment, said of the Home Office: "I think it is incompetent, it is inefficient, it takes ages for a decision to be made."

Afterwards, Mr Umunna tweeted: "Still slightly stunned by the interview I’ve just done on @Channel4News with Tory MP Sir Roger Gale who had a rather heated discussion with @krishgm and me on immigration.

"If you want to see why the Tories have a toxic reputation on immigration, watch the exchange."

Sir Roger accused Mr Guru-Murthy and Mr Umunna of being in "denial" and of saying Windrush was the only issue.

He said: "We should start by applying the rules, people are illegal immigrants because they are here illegally. We have to do something about that.

He continued: "There is a fundamentally difference and I'm sorry Chuka you and Krishnan don't seem to get it."