Tory chairman Nigel Huddleston fumed “I don’t believe a word of it!” when asked on BBC Question Time whether Labour’s position on immigration was “heartfelt”. Panellists on the show were quizzed on the Government’s plans to tighten immigration controls, unveiled by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer this week.

The senior Tory, who said he recognised his party’s own “failure” to deal with immigration, said: “Anybody making promises to you needs a detailed plan, not just warm words.” He said Labour’s stance on immigration was “not heartfelt”. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle insisted on the programme that the Government “inherited” an immigration system that was “out of control” and that the Conservatives had “let loose”.

He added: “We are the Labour Party, people who come to our country do need to do so in order to work and contribute to society.”

Sir Keir outlined a number of measures aimed at reducing the number of people coming to the UK.

The White Paper includes plans to end care worker visas for overseas recruitment, as well as bringing in stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students, and a reduction in the amount of time graduates can spend in the UK after their studies.

But the Prime Minister has faced criticism for the language he used in the Monday speech after he said the country risked becoming an “island of strangers”.

Critics, including backbench Labour MPs, have raised concerns about the language, with some comparing it with a similar passage from Enoch Powell’s infamous 1968 “rivers of blood” speech.