"I certainly wasn't intending to cause any concern or offence"
Sir Keir Starmer was embroiled in a row with Bangladeshi community leaders over his comments on dealing with illegal migrants from that country.
The row was caused after the Labour leader used Bangladesh as an example of a safe country to which asylum seekers could be returned if they were found to have no right to remain in the UK.
It escalated with a clip on X.
Labour said the clip had been edited to make it appear as though Sir Keir was suggesting the repatriation of British Bangladeshis.
Defending the comments, Sir Keir said:
“The reference in the debate the other day was an example of a country that is considered safe as far as asylum is concerned and one of the countries that’s actually got a returns agreement with us, and that is actually a good thing where both we and Bangladesh can be proud of.
“I certainly wasn’t intending to cause any concern or offence to any Bangladeshi community here.”
Sir Keir Starmer said he values the relationship and the contribution of the Bangladeshi community in Britain, adding:
“They’ve made a massive contribution to our economy, to our culture and to our country.
“That’s why there’s always been a longstanding and strong relationship between Labour and the Bangladeshi community here.
“It’s why my first trip as a Labour MP was to Bangladesh, where I saw for myself the strength of the country, the hospitality and warmth of the country.
“I’ve got many Bangladeshi constituents in my own constituency who I’ve been working with for many years, and I want to build on that in government.”
Councillor Sabina Akhtar, the deputy leader of the Labour group on Tower Hamlets council, has since resigned from the party and said:
“I cannot be proud of the party any more when the leader of the party singles out my community and insults my Bangladeshi identity.”
In a video, Apsana Begum, Labour’s candidate in Poplar and Limehouse, said:
“I will never ever stand by and let migrant communities be scapegoated.”
“It is totally unacceptable for politicians, for any party, to use dog whistle racism against Bangladeshis or any other migrant community.”
As the daughter of Bangladeshi migrants, I am so proud of the East End’s diversity and that our communities include migrants from all around the world. ?
Let me be very clear: I will never stand by and let migrant communities be scapegoated. pic.twitter.com/MqfiGHskIj— Apsana Begum (@ApsanaBegumMP) June 26, 2024
The row stemmed from Sir Keir’s responses to questions when he said the number of people returned to where they came from had fallen by 44% under the Conservative government.
He pledged to “put the staff back in the returns unit” in “the first few days” of a Labour government.
Sir Keir said: “I’ll make sure that we’ve got planes going off – not to Rwanda, that’s an expensive gimmick – they will go back to the countries where people come from. That’s what used to happen.
When pressed on which countries he was talking about, Sir Keir responded:
“At the moment people coming from countries like Bangladesh are not being removed, because they’re not being processed.”
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