Diane Abbott says Starmer's 'island of strangers' speech is 'racist'

Diane Abbott today labelled Sir Keir Starmer's speech about Britain becoming an 'island of strangers' as 'fundamentally racist'.

Announcing his immigration white paper last month, the Prime Minister said his new strategy would 'finally take back control of our borders and close the book on a squalid chapter'.

He added: 'Without [rules], we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.'

The speech quickly caused uproar within the Labour left, with some likening it to Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of Blood' speech - claims which Sir Keir has since rejected.

The comparison was drawn due to the similarity of tone in Mr Powell's speech in 1968, in which the former Tory MP said the white population could become 'strangers in their own country' due to future migration.