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Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott will tell Labour’s conference that the party’s approach to immigration will be based on “fairness and reasonable management”.

She will claim the Tories had “weaponised” the issue by pandering to anti-immigrant sentiment and setting the “bogus” target of cutting net migration to below 100,000.

The Labour leadership faces a potential challenge over immigration, with pro-European Union figures backing a motion calling for the party to commit to maintaining free movement of people from the continent after Brexit .

(Image: PA)

Ms Abbott will say in her speech: “Tory opportunism on immigration is a disgrace. They continue to talk about bogus immigration targets, which they have not met and will never meet.

“There are real labour market issues. But the Labour Party will not scapegoat immigrants for these issues.

“Our approach to immigration in government will be fairness and the reasonable management of migration.”

On policing, Ms Abbott will pledge to reverse funding cuts and recruit 10,000 new officers.

She will say: “Austerity undermines policing and community safety. We see this with rising levels of homicide, knife, and gun crime. The police themselves are suffering from spiralling levels of overwork and stress.”