Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has denied that her party plans to retrospectively revoke legal migration status, dismissing remarks by shadow minister Katie Lam as imprecise. The clarification comes after Lam's comments in a Sunday Times interview sparked confusion about Conservative immigration policy.
In the interview last week, Lam suggested some people who came to Britain legally "shouldn't have been able to do so" and "will also need to go home." She added this would leave «a mostly but not entirely culturally coherent group of people.»
Badenoch told journalists on Thursday the policy would not work backwards. «No, we're not being retrospective. When we put that amendment through, it was for a live Bill, so it wouldn't have been retrospective. It was applied to a specific cohort,» she said. She added: «So she (Ms Lam) just stated it imprecisely.»
Labour attacks Conservatives
Labour Party Chairwoman Anna Turley called the episode a humiliation for the Conservatives. «This is a humiliation for the Tories - for Katie Lam and Chris Philp, who have been completely undermined, and for Kemi Badenoch, who didn't even appear to understand her own policy,» she stated on Wednesday.
Turley questioned whether the party could be taken seriously if Lam and Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp remained in their posts after «this monumental failure of leadership and judgment.»
The Conservative policy, outlined by Badenoch in February, would prevent people from claiming permanent settled status if they were claiming benefits or had a criminal record. It would also increase the required residency period from five to ten years.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
