DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Migrant surge is a slap in the face for voters

In his Autumn Statement, Jeremy Hunt extolled the virtue of training home-grown workers to fill Britain’s labour shortages.

Swiping at Labour, he said: ‘The Opposition would prefer to fill those vacancies in a different way; they hanker after a more liberal immigration regime, or even dream of bringing back free movement.’

Curiously, when the official version of the Chancellor’s speech was published, these barbed comments had been quietly deleted. So why was this?

Could it be related to the release yesterday of data which showed a mind-boggling rise in net migration under the Tories?

In 2022 alone the figure was a staggering 745,000 – equivalent to the population of Leeds. This surge has been driven by the ushering in of huge numbers of health workers, students and their families.

After Brexit, we were meant to reclaim our borders, instead, we seem to be throwing them wide open

Many are aghast that Rishi Sunak is still merely tinkering at the edges on visa requirements

In his Autumn Statement, Jeremy Hunt extolled the virtue of training home-grown workers to fill Britain’s labour shortages

Of course, no one blames those who come here legally seeking new opportunities. But where are the extra homes, schools, GP surgeries and other public services to meet the demand? Our complacent politicians have failed to build them.

Over these past 30 years, every government has been elected on a promise to restrict immigration. Yet it has proceeded at a transformative speed. Many are aghast that Rishi Sunak is still merely tinkering at the edges on visa requirements, rather than making them tough enough to ensure a dramatic fall in immigration.

Tory MPs warn this is a ‘do or die’ moment. The party is already floundering in the polls. If it can’t be trusted to curb migration, they say, it will sink even lower.

After Brexit, we were meant to reclaim our borders. Instead, we seem to be throwing them wide open. This not only corrodes social cohesion, it’s also a slap in the face for the British public.

Troubling takeover bid

In a region frequently plagued by turmoil, the United Arab Emirates has enjoyed almost unbroken stability since its formation in 1971 from what had been seven small British protectorates.

Keen to modernise and burnish its international reputation, this oil-rich kingdom has become, on many levels, a valued and reliable trading partner.

When it comes to freedom of expression, however, it is far from enlightened. Ranked 145th out of 180 in the global Press Freedom Index, its news outlets are closely monitored and criticism of its rulers and institutions is illegal.

Keen to modernise and burnish its international reputation, this oil-rich kingdom has become, on many levels, a valued and reliable trading partner

Unless Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer blocks the deal, ownership of the Telegraph titles and Spectator magazine will soon transfer from the Barclay family to RedBird IMI

So the fact that a UAE-funded media company is poised to take over one of this country’s most prominent newspaper groups is deeply disquieting.

Unless Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer blocks the deal, ownership of the Telegraph titles and Spectator magazine will soon transfer from the Barclay family to RedBird IMI, whose majority stakeholder is UAE vice-president Sheikh Mansour.

We know something of the Sheikh’s modus operandi from his stewardship of Manchester City FC, which he acquired in 2008. Since then, it stands accused of riding roughshod over Premier League rules and obscuring its finances.

It’s true that the Daily Mail’s owner, DMGT, was a prospective bidder for the Telegraph and had talks, already discontinued, with potential minority investors from the Middle East. But it was never proposed that such investors would have had the slightest editorial influence.

RedBird IMI claims the Telegraph titles will retain their independence. But given the UAE’s ingrained culture of repression, how much is that guarantee worth?

For all the assurances, this is the takeover of a hugely important and influential British media group by a senior figure in an autocratic foreign government.

It is unquestionably in the public interest that Miss Frazer and the regulators hold this deal up to the light and investigate it in forensic detail.

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