We must stop calling concerns about immigration 'racist', demands Labour MP

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has faced widespread criticism for his lacklustre approach to tackling immigration after the party scrapped the Tory-made Rwanda plan on day one in office.

In a bid to tackling the surging numbers, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has pledged a large-scale crack down and promised to deport more than 14,000 migrants by the end of 2024.

Speaking to host Olivia Utley, Tapp said: "We went over [to the US] in January, a group of candidates at the time, to learn from the Americans and the Democrats and looking at their campaign methods.

"We went back out after our landslide victory, to impart some of our knowledge as to what we learnt on the campaign trail, and look at what they're doing with their campaign."

Sharing the main takeaway from their trip to America, Tapp revealed: "One of the big messages that I was taking over there was to ensure that with their campaign, they do what we did, and that is, listen to what working class, hard working people want.

"Don't ignore them. And for me in Dover and Deal, a perfect example of that is worries and concerns around immigration. These people have valid concerns. They're not racist, we must drop that sort of rhetoric and deal with these issues, just like Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper are doing.

"And it does look like Kamala and her team are going down that route as well, which is great."

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Highlighting the issue of immigration and the impact it is having on Britons across the country, Tapp noted that the Government is "not ignoring" the concerns for the growing numbers.

He told GB News: "Those voters who are concerned about immigration haven't been ignored by me or by the party, and you can see that already with our immigration policy. “Remember, it's only 50 days and there is a common sense approach to this: it doesn't happen overnight.

"We’ve started recruiting for the new border security commander. We've already recruited over a hundred new intelligent officers who are working across Europe. We've conducted nine deportation flights. We're looking at a thousand officers being bought into a specific deportation unit.

"So there's a hell of a lot of work going on behind the scenes, but these things do take time to have a real impact."

Criticising the past attempts of the Conservatives to tackle immigration with the Rwanda scheme, Tapp said the plan was a "gimmick", and Labour are bringing in a deterrent which will work "twofold".

Tapp said: "Rwanda was a gimmick that cost a hell of a lot of money that was wasted, and it would have taken up to a hundred years to deport those that have crossed in that way, it simply wasn't a deterrent.

"You could argue that we're 25 per cent lower because of the first 50 days in Government, but that's not the case, right? Let's be realistic here. We've got a lot of work to do, and the deterrent that we bring in is twofold. Firstly, we're going to smash the gangs. We're bringing in the likes of MI5 with those extra powers and tools.

"I've worked against serious and organised criminals with the National Crime Agency, but also in a counter terror role, so I've seen the difference that those extra powers and tools made. So bringing in MI5 to this fight will have a big impact. Of course, it's not the full answer, but we will be their worst nightmare. Of course, it takes time to pursue and bring these evil criminals to justice, and a part of that also is disruption. It's not all about sticking them in prison as much as we'd love to do that.

"Meeting that evidential threshold is often very difficult, but there are methods to disrupt these operations too. And if we're deporting more that shouldn't be here, which we already are, that acts as a deterrent in itself."