Rishi Sunak has effectively dumped the Tories’ pledge to bring down levels of legal immigration.
In his latest U-turn, the prime minister repeatedly refused to re-commit to his party’s 2019 manifesto promise.
The Conservatives said they would bring down net migration from the 226,000 level it was at the time.
But speaking to journalists on his way to the G7 summit in Japan, Sunak that while he wanted to bring down legal immigration, he would not stand by the manifesto target.
The PM said he had “inherited some numbers” on migration and insisted voters were now focused on tackling illegal migration, such as small boat crossings in the English Channel.
Pressed again if he stands by the Tory pledge, Sunak said: “I’ve said I do want to bring legal migration down.
“I think illegal migration is undoubtedly the country’s priority, and you can see all the work I’m putting into that.”
His comments put him at odds with home secretary Suella Braverman, who earlier this week said overall immigration levels must fall.
Sunak’s immigration climbdown came just hours after it was confirmed he has dumped his Tory leadership pledge to close all of China’s Confucius Institutes in the UK.
A Downing Street spokesperson said yesterday such a move would be “disproportionate”.
They are just the latest in a long line of U-turns performed by Sunak since he entered Number 10 last October.
In December, he ditched a previous pledge to halt new onshore windfarms following a rebellion by Tory MPs.
And just last week, he dumped a promise to axe all EU laws on the UK statute book by the end of this year.