Miliband in immigration attack

Mr Miliband said the Prime Minister should apologise for a failure to tackle immigration numbers in a heated Commons exchange.

The Labour leader’s shift to right with a stronger line on immigration comes as voters prepare to have their say in the Rotherham Police Commissioner by-election, a battleground Ukip have poured money and resources into.

If successful it would be the first sign that Nigel Farage’s party can break through in both Labour and Conservative areas after long running warnings from with the Labour party that their vote us under threat.

At Prime Minister’s Questions Mr Miliband told David Cameron an immigration backlog had worsened under the coalition.

The PM though told MPs his Government had inherited a “shambles” from the previous administration.

Mr Miliband said: “Can you explain why the number of asylum applicants awaiting a decision has risen by 70% in the last year?”

Mr Cameron said: “Let me just say this: we inherited from Labour a complete and utter shambles. A department that wasn’t fit for purpose, computer programmes that wouldn’t work and an immigration system that was a complete mess.

“Before you ask your next question, you might want to apologise for the mess Labour made.”

The Labour leader replied: “On this day of all days, there is only one person who should be apologising on immigration and it’s you for your total failure.”

Mr Miliband added: “You’re not making it right, you’re making it worse. Since 2010, the backlog has gone up, not down, they (the Government) have wasted a billion pounds on failed IT projects and they have lost track of 50,000 people.

“What was your promise before the election? You said you would reduce net migration to tens of thousands a year.”

Mr Cameron insisted immigration is down a quarter from its “peak under Labour”.

He added: “I’m happy to contrast our record any time. Under Labour, net migration quadrupled. Two and a half million extra people came into our country.

“In 2004, they gave unrestricted access to our labour markets to eight new European countries. You forgot to mention immigration in your conference speech altogether and of course there is that remark by Peter Mandleson that the last Labour government sent out search parties to look for extra migrants to bring to this country.”

Mr Cameron also revealed there will be a vote on re-joining the European arrest warrant before the Rochester and Strood by-election.

Downing Street aides later said no date had yet been set for a Commons vote on the EAW - and the other 34 justice and home affairs measures which the UK wishes to retain - but that it would have to take place by December 1 to meet the re-adoption deadline.

Asked whether the Prime Minister was expecting a rebellion by Eurosceptic Tory backbenchers when the warrant comes to Parliament, the source replied: “Of course, we always want Conservative MPs to support Government policy and Government votes.”

A Labour source said an offer to use opposition time next Wednesday to vote on the EAW was still on the table.

“We now need to have some more questions answered by the Government,” said the source.