Sir Keir Starmer said the Government will revisit how international law is interpreted as it addresses the challenge of mass migration.
The Prime Minister said the way UK courts interpret international laws such as the European Convention on Human Rights needs to be re-examined.
“We need to look again at the interpretation of some of these provisions, not tear them down,” he told the BBC.
The remarks were made in the wake of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s speech at the Labour Party conference, during which she detailed plans to tighten the rules for migrants seeking indefinite leave to remain, a status allowing legal migrants to settle in the UK without visa renewal.
Under the proposed changes, migrants would need to demonstrate they are contributing to society, including speaking English to a high standard and maintaining a clean criminal record in order to qualify for permanent residency in the UK.
Sir Keir told Radio 4’s Today programme that countries were experiencing “mass migration in a way that we have not seen in previous years”.
He added: “I believe that those genuinely fleeing persecution should be afforded asylum, and that is a compassionate act.”
The comments follow the Prime Minister’s claim that Nigel Farage and his supporters are not racist, even as he labelled the Reform Party’s immigration policy “racist” and “immoral”.
Sir Keir and his colleagues stepped up their attacks on Mr Farage’s party, repeatedly branding Reform’s policy to remove the right to remain from some migrants legally living in Britain as “racist” and “immoral”.
The PM also declined to say US President Donald Trump’s claims that London wants to “go to Sharia Law” were “racist”, but described them as “nonsense”.
Speaking with Sky’s Beth Rigby, as part of a series of interviews following the embattled PM’s keynote speech at this year’s Labour Party conference, Sir Keir said he did not believe Mr Farage was racist.
He said: “No, nor do I think Reform voters are racist.
“They’re concerned about things like our borders, they’re frustrated about the pace of change.
“I’m not for a moment suggesting that they are racist.”
He insisted he had been talking about a “particular policy”, claiming Reform’s plans would see migrants who live in the UK lawfully deported, saying “that to me would tear our country apart”.
The Labour leader, who described Mr Farage as a “formidable politician”, declined to say whether he believed his opponent was courting racists with the policy, but said minorities in the UK felt a “shiver down their throat”.
Labour’s conference will conclude on Wednesday with speeches from Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
