Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to cut immigration but rejected claims that the summer’s rioters were “one and the same” as people with legitimate concerns about migration.

Addressing the Labour conference for the first time as Prime Minister, Sir Keir condemned the “violent thuggery” seen on Britain’s streets over the summer, saying: “The country sees you and it rejects you.”

He said he would “never accept the argument… that millions of people concerned about immigration are one and the same thing as people who smashed up businesses, targeted mosques, attempted to burn refugees, scrawled racist graffiti over walls, Nazi salutes at the Cenotaph, attacked NHS nurses and told people with different coloured skin, people who contribute here, people who grew up here, that they should ‘go home’.

Three police officers in riot gear arrest a man during a riot in Middlesbrough
The Prime Minister told people who had rioted over the summer: ‘The country sees you, and it rejects you’ (Owen Humphreys/PA)

“No, people concerned about immigration were not doing that, because they understand that this country, this democratic country, is built on the rule of law, the ballot box, the common understanding that we debate our differences.”

Drawing loud applause from the audience in the conference hall in Liverpool, the Prime Minister promised: “I will never let a minority of violent, racist thugs terrorise our communities.”

He went on to stress that the debate about immigration was about “control”, not “the worth of migrants”.

Accusing the Conservatives of ignoring people’s desire for control after Brexit, creating an immigration system “deliberately reformed to reduce control”, he said a “more decisive Government” was needed to deal with “the great forces” affecting communities.

The Prime Minister went on to say his Government was committed to cutting net immigration and promised to boost young British people’s skills to reduce reliance on overseas workers.

He said: “I have never thought we should be relaxed about some sectors importing labour when there are millions of young people, ambitious and highly talented, who are desperate to work and contribute to their community.

“Trust me, there are plenty of examples of apprenticeship starts going down at the very same time that visa applications for the same skills are going up and so we will get tough on this.”

The Government’s policy will see the Migration Advisory Committee proactively highlight key sectors where labour market failures have led to soaring overseas recruitment, while employers guilty of flouting employment laws will be banned from hiring from abroad.