Rishi Sunak has lost control of migration, says Keir Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Rishi Sunak of "losing control" of immigration, ahead of figures expected to show it has hit record levels.

Official statistics published on Thursday could see legal net migration hit 700,000 for 2022 - dwarfing the previous annual record of 504,000.

At PMQs, the Labour leader said it reflected a "low-wage Tory economy".

But the prime minister said Labour had "absolutely no ideas" of its own to reduce numbers.

Mr Sunak cited new curbs on the family of postgraduate students, announced on Tuesday, as a measure that would help bring migration down.

In the Commons, Sir Keir said Thursday's migration figures would show the government had failed to properly promote skills training for British workers.

He added that the government's apprenticeship levy, introduced in 2017, was "not working" and needed changing to give firms more flexibility.

"They have lost control of the economy, they have lost control of public services and now they have lost control of immigration," he added.

He said if Mr Sunak were serious about "weaning his government off the immigration lever", then he would "get serious about wages in Britain, and get serious about skills and training".

In reply, the prime minister said there was "absolutely no semblance that that there would be any control" over immigration under a Labour government.

He accused Labour of wanting "even more people coming to the UK".

Meanwhile, Labour has promised to change the minimum salary levels for granting visas to foreign workers.

In a statement released shortly after PMQs, the party said it would scrap a 20% reduction in the minimum salary required to get a visa for jobs on a government shortage occupation list.

It did not say when it would make this change if it was in government, adding it would work with businesses to develop a timetable.

It also said it would introduce new training requirements for "key occupations" on the shortage list.

Thursday's migration figures are expected to reflect the effect of refugees coming from Ukraine since Russia's invasion, and a special visa scheme for Hong Kong residents to come to the UK.

They will also reflect a change during Covid in how official migration figures are calculated, with projections now linked more to government data rather than surveys of passengers arriving at UK ports.