Diane Abbott: Tories made immigration promise they knew they could not keep – Labour will have a fair policy

This is the full response published by shadow home secretary Diane Abbott after new figures showed net migration hitting the second-highest number on record in the year to June.

“The Tories made a promise to the British people on net migration that they knew they could never keep, eroding public trust. But rather than learn from her mistakes as home secretary, Theresa May now seems committed to repeating them.

“We now know that at the same time she was cutting the border force, she tried to force schools into objectionable schemes that would hurt children in a failed effort to meet that target.

“We should welcome overseas students and the contribution they make to our universities and wider society, and yet the Tories seem determined to discourage them.

“Scandalously, the number of asylum applications from Syria has gone down, even though we know the crisis there is deepening.

“And now Theresa May is refusing to provide certainty about the future of EU nationals who have lived and worked here for years.

“Rather than making unworkable promises, using our neighbours as bargaining chips, or forcing schools to act as border guards, Labour will have a fair migration policy that benefits us all.”