I deeply regret ‘island of strangers' speech, says Starmer
The Prime Minister said it 'wasn't right' to use that 'particular phrase', despite No 10 previously insisting that he stood by his words.
He said neither he nor his speech-writers had been aware that the remarks could have been interpreted as an 'echo' of the language of Enoch Powell.
The comments made by the Prime Minister last month drew a fierce backlash from Left-wing critics, who accused him of 'reflecting the language' of the politician's infamous 'Rivers of Blood' speech.
Sir Keir told The Observer: 'I wouldn't have used those words if I had known they were, or even would be interpreted as an echo of Powell. I had no idea – and my speech-writers didn't know either. But that particular phrase – no, it wasn't right. I'll give you the honest truth – I deeply regret using it.'
Earlier this month, the Prime Minister suggested that he regretted the speech, admitting that he could have been more articulate.
He insisted the message he was 'trying to get across' was supposed to have been about bringing people together.
Sir Keir delivered the controversial speech last month while announcing a new programme of immigration restrictions.
He said: 'Let me put it this way – nations depend on rules, fair rules. Sometimes they are written down, often they are not, but either way, they give shape to our values, guide us towards our rights, of course, but also our responsibilities, the obligations we owe to each other.
'In a diverse nation like ours ... we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.'
Sir Keir said very high levels of immigration in recent years had caused 'incalculable' damage to the UK.
It drew a furious backlash, with John McDonnell, the former Labour shadow chancellor, accusing the Prime Minister of 'reflecting the language of Enoch Powell'. Zarah Sultana, the suspended Labour MP, called the speech 'sickening'.
Powell, the former Conservative cabinet minister who died in 1998, said in his 1968 speech that the native British population had 'found themselves made strangers in their own country' because of immigration.
Despite the backlash, No 10 refused to retract the remarks. Addressing the reaction linking Sir Keir's words to those of Powell, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'We completely reject that comparison.'
Asked to confirm that the Prime Minister stood by his comments, he said: 'Yes.'
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, also argued that what Sir Keir had said was 'completely different' to Powell.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I don't think it is right to make those comparisons. It is completely different and the Prime Minister said yesterday, I think almost in the same breath, talked about the diverse country that we are and that being part of our strength.'
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