'Sorry I said we should send a lot of migrants back home' says Milton Keynes councillor

A Conservative councillor has apologised for declaring on social media that the "invasion" of migrants should be stopped in the UK.

Outspoken Councillor Terry Baines said he thought he was echoing the views of the government's Immigration Bill when he wrote on Facebook this morning: 'It is time to stop the invasion of migrants and time to send a lot back.

"I worded it badly. I didn't mean it to sound so harsh. I'm not a highly educated man and I know what I meant to say but it didn't come out quite right," he told the Citizen.

Cllr Baines, who lives on Fishermead, has now referred himself to the Standards Committee at Milton Keynes Council and is waiting to see if he will be disciplined over his comment.

He says his words were prompted by yesterday's House of Common vote for the new Immigration Bill, which is set to end "low-skilled" immigration altogether at the end of this year through a new post-Brexit migration system.

Milton Keynes two Tory MPs Iain Stewart and Ben Everitt both voted in favour of the Bill.

"I thought I was agreeing with the MPs," said Terry, who represents the Campbell Park and Old Woughton ward on the council and has been an ambassador for the Fishermead area for decades.

"We all know we have a problem with immigration and we need to do something about it. Some people may agree with me, others may not, I'm not one to mince my words, but at the same time I didn't mean my comment to sound quite like it did."

He has now taken down the offending comment.

"It was entirely unacceptable. I deleted it as soon as I realised how it read, " he said.

The new Immigration Bill will make it effectively impossible for anyone paid less than £20,000 to get a visa to work in the UK.

There will be an exemption for those wishing to work in the NHS, but critics argue the coronavirus crisis has emphasised the importance of other low-paid keyworkers.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: "Our new points-based system is firmer, fairer, and simpler. It will attract the people we need to drive our economy forward and lay the foundation for a high wage, high skill, high productivity economy."

But Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine argued: "It is hard to believe that in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the Conservatives are still pressing ahead with their destructive plans. Now more than ever, we should be celebrating the enormous contributions that workers from all over the world make to our NHS, social care and across our society."

In the light of the coronavirus crisis, some Conservative MPs have called for a more liberal approach to migration. This includes creating a special visa for social care workers.