Defence secretary’s use of word harks back to Thatcher, amid Ukip pressure and Tory calls for renegotiation of EU membership

Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, has claimed British towns are being “swamped” by immigrants and their residents are “under siege”, in an escalation of the emotive language being used by Tory ministers calling for a renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with Europe.

In terms reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s, he said on Sunday that in some areas of the UK, large numbers of migrant workers and foreign people claiming benefits should be subject to some form of restraint – or risk dominating the local population.

Under pressure from Ukip in the polls and facing the possibility of losing the Rochester and Strood byelection to the party next month, David Cameron has indicated he would make changes to the principle of freedom of movement of workers within the union a “red line” in a mooted renegotiation of the UK’s membership terms.

Fallon made his comments after being forced to deny that Cameron’s efforts to renegotiate the UK’s relationship with Europe were foundering after Angela Merkel spelled out her opposition.

After the prime minister detailed his plan for Britain to regain control over its borders, Merkel told a Sunday newspaper she was opposed to fundamental change.

Fallon told Sky News: “The Germans haven’t seen our proposals yet and we haven’t seen our proposals yet, and that’s still being worked on at the moment to see what we can do to prevent whole towns and communities being swamped by huge numbers of migrants.

“In some areas of the UK, down the east coast, towns do feel under siege, [with] large numbers of migrant workers and people claiming benefits, and it’s quite right we look at that,” he said.

His comments were immediately condemned by his cabinet colleague Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat energy secretary, who said he disagreed with Fallon’s language on the same programme. “When we talk about immigration we need to be responsible in the words that we use,” he said.

Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said Fallon’s remarks reflected “the desperation of the Conservative Party”.

“You have got to be responsible always in the language that you use around issues of immigration.

“Of course there are challenges, I recognise that, but I think that embodies part of the problem at the moment.

“We have got a government that is spending more time negotiating with its backbenchers than negotiating with other European leaders.

“The truth is, if you are looking out the back window of your car all the time, you tend to crash the car and right now David Cameron is so fearful of internal challenge on the issue of immigration and external challenge electorally from Ukip that I think he is letting Britain down, and we saw that in some of the intemperate comments this week in relation to the unacceptable demand by the European Union in relation to the budget.

“Frankly I don’t think anybody will be convinced by David Cameron’s anger or indeed Michael Fallon’s anger.

“What we need is action on change and reform in Europe and, alas, that’s not what we are getting from this Conservative Government.”

Steven Woolfe, Ukip’s immigration spokesman, said that Fallon’s comments were reminiscent of the Tories previous over-the-top policy of launching poster vans to drive around areas with high immigration to urge illegal entrants to return home.

He said: “We are trying to have a serious debate about the spectre of mass inward migration and its impact on low wage, low skilled workers. Meanwhile, the government is resorting to intemperate language. Can you imagine what would have been said if we had said that?”

The prime minister is said by aides to be preparing a manifesto pledge to introduce quotas for low-skilled migrants from the EU. Before the last general election Cameron promised to bring net annual immigration down to the “tens of thousands” but has failed to get anywhere near the target.

It comes after a difficult few days for Cameron, which saw him ambushed at a Brussels summit with a demand to pay an extra £1.7bn into EU coffers.

Cameron responded furiously to the bill, insisting it would not be paid by the deadline of 1 December and claiming the row risked pushing the UK closer to the exit door.

The European commission dismissed the objections, saying the contribution revisions were calculated by independent statisticians using a standard formula agreed by all member states. That process varies the contribution depending on economic performance.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, the German chancellor appeared to dismiss the prospect of radical change.

“Germany will not tamper with the fundamental principles of free movement in the EU,” Merkel said.

The Tories have faced criticism before for the use of the word “swamped”. In 1978, Margaret Thatcher used it in saying people feared being “swamped” by immigrants from the new Commonwealth and Pakistan. Racial tensions had been brewing in the UK and Thatcher brought immigration and race to the forefront of the political debate in the year leading up to the 1979 general election.

When asked by the interviewer how severely she would cut the immigration numbers if she got to power, Thatcher replied: “If we went on as we are then by the end of the century there would be 4 million people of the new Commonwealth or Pakistan here. Now, that is an awful lot and I think it means that people are really rather afraid that this country might be rather swamped by people with a different culture.” She was elected the following year.