Bill Carmichael: Labour's lies over 'open door' policy

For years Labour Ministers have denied adopting an "open door" policy of mass immigration, despite the fact that almost three million immigrants have entered the UK with little control since 1997. Now, thanks to a Freedom of Information request, those denials have been exposed as lies.

A previously unseen joint Cabinet Office and Home Office report from 10 years ago lays out the deceit in detail. It shows that, beginning in 2000, the Government pursued a policy of mass immigration in order to bring about cultural and political changes to British society that were hugely unwelcome to the majority of the population.

Ministers knew that the policy was unpopular with the voters – particularly among white working-class Labour supporters who would be most badly affected by mass immigration – so they simply decided to keep it a secret.

This is illustrated by telling differences between earlier drafts of the report, and the anodyne version that was published.

The earlier report, tellingly entitled "Going with the Flow", accepts, for example, that removing controls on immigration will result in big increases in crime – particularly in people trafficking, prostitution, drug dealing and fraud. The later official version simply censored such uncomfortable truths stating instead that there was "little data" on the involvement of migrants in crime. Similarly, an admission that mass immigration would help to meet the Government's "social objectives" was cut from the final report.

The draft paper also sets out the belief that anyone who opposes mass immigration – for whatever reason – is racist. This, of course, foreshadowed Labour's attempts to close down any legitimate debate on the issue of immigration over the last decade.

People who objected to the dramatic changes in their communities – the increases in crime, or the intolerable pressure on services such as housing, education and health – were smeared as racists.

This is not the first time that this particular cat has been let out of the bag. Last October, a former Labour speechwriter Andrew Neather revealed that the driving force of the mass immigration policy was to make Britain "truly multicultural" and "to rub the Right's nose in diversity and render their arguments out of date".

Mr Neather, who worked for Tony Blair, Jack Straw and David Blunkett, admitted that Ministers were nervous about publicising the policy because they feared public reaction. They had good reason to fear it – for Labour's immigration policy has proved disastrous for both our security and community relations.

It allowed, for example, Islamic extremists from all over the world to base themselves in London to plot mayhem and spread their poison among impressionable British Muslims. The result was seen in the 2005 London transport bombings that killed 52 innocent commuters.

Also, by using the race smear against anyone who objected to uncontrolled immigration, Labour managed to drive thousands of voters into the arms of the truly racist BNP. That is why the BNP secured two seats – in Yorkshire and the North West – in last year's Euro elections. And worse will come if we refuse to debate the problems posed by immigration honestly – and without the smears and secrecy.

Ukip's cheap shot

Herman Van Rompuy is indeed an absurd figure – one of no fewer than four unelected "Presidents" each claiming to represent the 500 million citizens of the European Union.

But that is no reason to justify the vitriolic attack by Ukip MEP Nigel Farage who described Mr Van Rompuy as having the "charisma of a damp rag and the appearance of a low-grade bank clerk" and who called Belgium a "non-country".

Such personal playground insults are not only insufferably rude, but they cheapen and discredit the political discourse.

I've no objection of Mr Farage putting in a few hard tackles in Brussels, but he needs to learn to play the ball and not the man.