Heseltine: Overseas students 'not seen as immigrants'

The former Conservative deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine has criticised as aspect of government immigration policy, that of including overseas students in net migration figures.

Lord Heseltine told the Today programme that overseas students "shouldn't be part of the (immigration) debate".

"There's no question about abandoning the immigration target of the need to have very rigorous controls."

And he added "I think that students are really not what people perceive as immigrants."

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday 25 August.