Candidates clash over immigration in BBC debate

Labour's Roh Yakobi fled from the Taliban in Afghanistan as a child

Politicians hoping to become the next MP for The Wrekin in Shropshire clashed over their differing views on immigration during a BBC debate.

Labour's candidate Roh Yakobi, who came to the UK from Afghanistan in 2004, claimed the Conservatives' plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda was "helping people smugglers".

Conservative Mark Pritchard, who was first elected in The Wrekin in 2005, said only his party had a deterrent for illegal migration.

The exchange came during a BBC Radio Shropshire hustings ahead of the general election on 4 July.

Both Labour and the Conservatives have pledged to bring down net migration, which peaked in 2022 at 764,000 people.

Labour said it would not set an overall target, while Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to halve levels of migration.

Conservative Mark Pritchard received 63.5% of the vote in 2019

"The Conservatives aren't going after the people smugglers", claimed Mr Yakobi, adding: "As soon as people arrive in Rwanda from the UK, they'll seek a way out, and who'll benefit? The people smugglers."

Mr Pritchard said the Conservatives' flagship immigration policy was already deterring people from crossing the English Channel.

"There is a clear choice at this election, the Conservatives who want to get flights off to Rwanda, or a Labour government under Kier Starmer who'll return to open borders," he claimed.

Liberal Democrat Anthony Lowe (left) and Reform UK's Richard Leppington (right) agreed skilled migrants were needed in the UK

Reform UK is the only party that has proposed a freeze on "non-essential" immigration.

Its candidate in The Wrekin, Richard Leppington, said: "Some migration is good and beneficial, but it has to be smart migration and not mass migration.

"It's putting intolerable strain on public services and my worry is the effect it's having on community cohesion."

Liberal Democrat Anthony Lowe said legal immigration was good for national prosperity, filling skills gaps in the NHS and care sector, but argued that a regional, industry-specific "long-term workforce strategy" was needed to attract the right workers.

While Green Party candidate Pat McCarthy said the immigration system needed to be fairer and more compassionate.

"This whole debate has become incredibly toxic," he said.

"People like asylum seekers have been deemed criminals just for wanting a safe place to live."

Chris Shipley, an Independent candidate, is also standing in The Wrekin constituency. A full list of all those standing is available here.

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