Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit minister, has said immigration is too high and called for it to be reduced as Britain leaves the EU, despite Jeremy Corbyn ruling out any cap on arrivals.

In his first interview since being recruited to the shadow cabinet on Friday, the former director of public prosecutions appeared to disclose a different approach to migration controls to that proposed by the Labour leader in recent weeks.



The MP for Holborn and St Pancras, who has been touted as a future Labour leader, said the number of migrants should be reduced by tackling a skills shortage. “There has been a huge amount of immigration over the last 10 years and people are understandably concerned about it,” he told BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.

“I think it should be reduced and it should be reduced by making sure we have the skills in this country that are needed for the jobs that need to be done.”

Asked if he accepted that limits on immigration would mean an end to free movement and therefore a departure from the EU’s tariff-free single market, Starmer said: “We have to be open to adjustments of the freedom of movement rules and how they apply to this country. We have to be shrewd and careful.”

His views seemingly contradict those of Corbyn, who last month appeared to rule out a reduction in immigration. The Labour leader told delegates at the annual party conference: “A Labour government will not offer false promises. We will not sow division or fan the flames of fear. We will instead tackle the real issues of immigration – and make the changes that are needed.”

Corbyn’s spokesman went further, saying later: “He is not concerned about numbers.” Rather than seeking controls on immigration, his spokesman said, Labour would seek to mitigate its effects on low-paid workers by reintroducing a “migrant impact fund”.

Sources close to Corbyn said he believes in trying to reduce the number of migrant workers in the UK, but doing so by ending the undercutting of pay through the exploitation of migrant labour. It is understood that the words attributed to Corbyn’s spokesman, about a lack of concern over numbers, gave a misleading impression, which did not reflect the Labour leader’s view.

In the interview, Starmer made clear that he accepted the vote in June to leave the EU, but would challenge Theresa May’s plans not to put the terms for Brexit to parliament.

“The referendum is clear and has to be accepted. We can’t have a rerun of the questions put to the country earlier this year, but there has to be democratic grip of the process. At the moment, the PM is trying to manoeuvre without any scrutiny. That is why the terms on which we are going to negotiate absolutely have to be put to a vote in the house,” he said.

He made his comments after it was revealed that the former Labour leader Ed Miliband had held discussions with pro-EU Tory MPs on Saturday and was said to be considering tabling an urgent question in the Commons, demanding that May appear before parliament to explain its future role in Brexit decisions, when MPs return on Monday.

The SNP and the pro-EU Conservative MPs Nicky Morgan and Anna Soubry were also considering tabling questions, while the former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, now the party’s Brexit spokesman, said it would be “appalling” if MPs did not vote on the detailed terms of Brexit, including the UK’s future relations with the single market.

Speaking to the Observer, Miliband said: “Having claimed that the referendum was about returning sovereignty to Britain, it would be a complete outrage if May were to determine the terms of Brexit without a mandate from parliament.

“There is no mandate for hard Brexit, and I don’t believe there is a majority in parliament for [it] either. Given the importance of these decisions for the UK economy … it has to be a matter for MPs.”

Starmer challenged the language used by the home secretary, Amber Rudd, when she proposed that companies should list the numbers of foreign workers they employ, but said the proposals themselves were neither xenophobic nor silly.

“What we shouldn’t do is fan the flames of division. I am sure you and many people watching this were appalled by the sort of language as ministers advocate a list of foreign workers,” he said.

