Conservative MPs have complained to party whips after Katie Lam said many legally settled people should be deported to make the UK “culturally coherent”, the Guardian has learned.
Lam, who is seen as a rising Tory star, said last weekend she believed “a large number of people” living legally in the UK should have their right to stay revoked and “go home”. “What that will leave is a mostly but not entirely culturally coherent group of people,” she told the Sunday Times.
Her remarks have triggered alarm among Tory MPs. “If we are using phrases like that, we need to explain what they mean,” one said. “‘Culturally coherent’: it’s either dog-whistle or it’s so vague it’s meaningless.
“‘Go home’ is a chant used by people who are bigoted or racist – so we have to be very careful when using phrases like ‘go home’, when talking in particular about legal migration. Politicians, especially ones who aspire to be in leadership frontline roles, should use language that is appropriate.”
A senior Tory said: “All this time Lam has been seen as number two to Robert Jenrick. That seems to have shifted post-conference where it looks like she’s now trying to take his spot on the hard right of the party. In trying to do so she has upset a lot of colleagues.
“This is what happens when you are new to the party and don’t really understand what it is about. There is a line but she has gone so far past it, it is just a dot to her.”
Keir Starmer vehemently condemned Lam’s comments on Thursday, saying: “I can’t tell you how much I disagree with her.”
He told ITV: “I think that her approach, where people who are lawfully in this country, who have been working in our communities, perhaps in our schools, in our hospitals, running businesses – our neighbours, people lawfully here – she wants to reach in and remove them from our country, for cultural reasons she says. That is how far the Conservative party has sunk.”
Lam has been tipped as a future Tory leader and is seen by colleagues as a close ally of Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, and Nick Timothy, a Tory MP and former special adviser.
A number of Conservative MPs have privately criticised Lam’s remarks and the matter has been raised with party whips. A party spokesperson declined to comment.
Kemi Badenoch’s spokesperson said on Wednesday that Lam’s comments were “broadly in line” with party policy, which was interpreted by some as an endorsement and others as a gentle rebuke.
It is understood that Lam’s comments prompted concern within Badenoch’s office about “freelancing” by a very junior shadow minister.
The Conservatives have set out plans to retrospectively strip the right of indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from people who claim benefits, which could result in many being deported.
There was continued confusion on Thursday about the policy, with officials providing no details on several important points and a senior shadow cabinet minister describing it inaccurately.
James Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary, denied that the proposal involved removing ILR in the UK from people already granted it. “Retrospective changes are not what we are talking about as our policy,” he told Times Radio.
However, this contradicts the party’s plans on ILR as set out in a draft bill from the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp. In a section titled “Revocation of indefinite leave to remain in certain circumstances”, it says ILR should be removed if people commit a crime, claim any kind of benefits or earn less than £38,700 for six months or longer.
There is also speculation about whether Badenoch was fully aware of her party’s proposals on ILR before the furore caused by Lam’s interview.
It remains unclear how the policy would work, including whether families might be split up, for example if someone with children and a spouse who has UK nationality might be stripped of their right to be in the country.
While Tory officials say people would not lose their ILR for claiming the state pension, it is not known whether they could if they received maternity or shared parental pay.
After Badenoch’s spokesperson was unable to provide clarity at a briefing on Wednesday, there was no response to questions put to the Conservative party or to Philp.
Max Wilkinson, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson, said the Conservatives were “trying to deport people who came to the UK legally and have lived, worked and paid their taxes in the UK for years”.
He said: “People who played by the rules – many of which were created by the Conservatives themselves – do not need to ‘go home’. This is their home.”
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