Tory party splits on show after minister’s ‘swamped with immigrants’ comment

Michael Fallon, the Tory Defence Secretary, is coming under fire for saying that British towns were “under siege” and “swamped” with immigrants.

Despite Fallon’s efforts to backtrack on the remarks, which he made on the Murnaghan programme yesterday, his words have caused alarm.

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Asked about proposals the Government might make to the EU to curb immigration, Fallon said:

“We haven’t seen our proposal yet, that’s being worked on to prevent whole towns and communities being swamped with huge numbers of migrant workers.”

“In some areas, particularly on the east coast, yes, towns do feel under siege from large numbers of migrant workers and people claiming benefits”.

Following unrest over the comments, including a Guardian front page and a Number 10 climbdown, Fallon said he had been “a little careless” with his choice of words.

Even UKIP have stepped in to accuse the Tories of using “intemperate language” – although their immigration spokesperson did add “Can you imagine what would have been said if we had said that?”

However, Fallon’s original words have been praised by fellow Tory MPs. Philip Davies said it proved how “in touch” with the public Fallon was, and Peter Bone revealingly commented that “No 10 and Mr Fallon are saying the same thing, but he is reflecting more the words you hear on the doorstep.” Meanwhile, Stewart Jackson said Fallon was “absolutely right”:

It looks like UKIP have given the Tory leadership the jitters so much that on immigration they have run right into the arms of their hard-right backbenchers.