I’m ‘living proof’ migrants are welcome in Britain but they must adopt British values and come here legally, PM says

RISHI Sunak today declared he’s “living proof” migrants are welcome in Britain, as he implored anyone moving to the UK to adopt British values.

Refusing to back up Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s claim that Britain faces a “hurricane” of mass migration, the PM said immigrants “can come here and do well”.

Rex

But he added those making the move MUST do so legally and put in effort to integrate with the community.

Appearing on the This Morning sofa with Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, Mr Sunak said: “We all agree that Britain is an incredibly welcoming place.

“We’re all living proof of the fact that immigrants can come here and do well.

“I think it’s something we should be so proud of as Brits.”

He added: “But I think when people do come here they should integrate.

“They should sign up to British values so we have that shared understanding among us that’s really important.”

Earlier this week at Tory conference in Manchester Ms Braverman grabbed headlines after launching a fresh tirade against immigrants who fail to integrate into society. 

The Home Secretary took aim at communities across Britain living “parallel lives”.

She said: “They are coming from abroad, they are not learning the language, they are not embracing British values and they are not taking part in British life.

“That needs to be identified, we need to be fearless in calling that out and that’s my job.”

The PM doubled down on the claim today as he vowed to stop the boats that bring over many illegal migrants who refuse to integrate and swallow up resources.

A defiant Mr Sunak told This Morning: “It should be us who decides who comes here, not criminal gangs.

“Illegal migration isn’t right, not least because people are being exploited and die when they make these crossings, but also, because we’re a compassionate country that wants to welcome people here.

“We’re not going to be able to do that if our system is overloaded with people who have jumped the queue.”

It comes as Labour Party conference is set to kick off in Liverpool on Sunday.

The Sir Keir Starmer is under huge pressure to clarify his policies for stopping the boats and controlling legal migration.

Last month the Labour chief sparked fury as he suggested running cap in hand to Brussels to sign a migrant “returns agreement”.

The PM said the plan would force Britain to take in 100,000 illegal immigrants from EU countries every year.