Labour Rejects "Misinformation" Amid Backlash Over Keir Starmer's Bangladesh Comments

Labour has described a clip of Keir Starmer talking about the removal of Bangladeshi migrants from the UK as "misinformation", amid concern among party insiders that the video has been widely shared among Bangladeshi voters.

In an interview with The Sun this week, Starmer said: "At the moment people coming from countries like Bangladesh are not being removed because they’re not being processed."

He was being asked about Labour's rejection of the Conservative Government policy of deporting to Rwanda migrants who arrive in the UK illegally in small boats.

"The number of people being returned to where they came from has dropped off by 44 per cent under this government. So on the first few days of government, I’ll tell you what I do, I’ll put the staff back in the returns unit, I’ll make sure I’ve got planes going off, not to Rwanda because that’s an expensive gimmick," the Labour leader said.

Asked where the migrants would go, Starmer replied: "They will go back to the countries where people come from. That’s what used to happen." He then raised the example of Bangladeshi migrants.

A clip of the interaction, seen by PoliticsHome, has been distributed on WhatsApp groups. It shows Starmer talking of "people coming from countries like Bangladesh" but he does not specify explicitly that he is referring to people without permission to settle in the UK.

At the end of the video, a message reads: "Don't vote for Labour on 4 July. Vote for Independent candidates."

A Labour spokesperson said: "Keir has proudly supported the Bangladeshi community across the UK, who make an enormous contribution to our country.

"This clip has been edited to make it look as though Keir Starmer is suggesting repatriation of British Bangladeshis. It is