Boris’s pledge on migration numbers ignored by Rishi

Boris Johnson made a pledge to bring down the net migration numbers to below 250,000 by the next election.

But this pledge appears to have been ignored by Rishi Sunak who says he wants to focus on illegal immigration as a priority.

He was speaking to journalists while on his way to the G7 summit in Japan when he refused to commit to taking the numbers down to the level promised by Boris Johnson.

He said that during meetings he had in Iceland earlier this week he spoke to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen which had resulted in some positive dialogue about the small boat crossings in the channel.

He went on to say that sharing intelligence and operating cooperation will make a difference in the number of boats able to cross the channel, together with the fight against organised crime. He said this will be a result of the engagement and diplomacy that Britain and the EU have conducted.

One government source said Mr Sunak is all about making promises that can be kept and avoiding those that can’t. That’s why he is concentrating on illegal immigration by people in small boats rather than talking about reducing immigration numbers for people that come legally and contribute to public services such as the NHS.

New figures for net migration are due to be published in the coming weeks. They are expected to show an increase in net migration from 504,000 in the year to June 2022 to between 650,000 and 997,000 in the year since.