Britain could see France-style civil unrest if Labour 'gives in' to party rebels and waters down immigration reform, claims Badenoch

Britain could face French-style civil unrest if Labour waters down immigration reform to appease internal party critics, Kemi Badenoch suggested today. 

The Tory leader warned Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood not to be 'weak' and give in to Cabinet and backbench critics of her plan to toughen up rules around leave to remain in the UK.

After a major speech ahead of the Budget, Mrs Badenoch cited the current major unrest across the Channel, where around 2,400 people have been arrested after a weekend of rioting and looting blamed on the far-Left.

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest over what many say are declining and dysfunctional public services, with authorities braced for more violence.

In the UK, speculation has mounted that Ms Mahmood's proposals to extend the five-year wait for permanent residency by up to 10 years for foreign care workers could be watered down to avoid a Labour rebellion after criticism from senior MPs.

Angela Rayner publicly attacked the prospect of backdating the plans earlier this year, while Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh reportedly hit out at any attempt to 'prolong the time people have to wait for settlement' in a now-deleted online post.

In her London speech today, Mrs Badenoch said: 'If she (Mahmood) is weak and gives in to Labour ministers and backbenchers then I am afraid we are going to see a lot more problems in the country.

'I don't want to see us ending up how France is ending up with so much civil unrest. 

'Politicians need to take responsibility, we will help Shabana if she takes responsibility.' 

She also hit out at Andy Burnham for wanting to reopen the Brexit debate, saying: 'They can commission all the reports that they like, but it's not going to change the situation, which is that Britain is out of the EU and rejoining the EU would be a massive distraction. 

'The country doesn't want us to have those debates again, the government needs to be focused on today's problems, and not try to go back ten years. It is not 2016 anymore.' 

Ms Rayner had earlier sought to downplay reports of a Cabinet rift over Ms Mahmood's immigration proposals and insisted she has 'full confidence' in the Home Secretary's plans.

The Housing Secretary said she is sure her colleague will 'land' on a policy that is fair to both taxpayers and migrants, following a consultation on plans to lengthen the period before settled status can be claimed.

Asked about Ms Fahnbulleh's comments, the Housing Secretary told LBC on Tuesday: 'They love saying those girls are all falling out, don't they?

'I mean, it's just not true. It's just not true.'

She defended Ms Mahmood's record on immigration, pointing to an increase in deportations and 48,000 small boat crossing attempts which the Government says have been prevented in the Channel since 2024.

'She's delivering, and she's had a consultation on it,' Ms Rayner said. 'She said she wants a fair process, and we're all up for that.'

Asked why she had attacked the proposals herself, she said: 'I literally made my views known as part of that consultation.'

Pressed on whether she supports what Ms Mahmood wants to do, she added: 'Absolutely. I'm absolutely in support that Shabana needs to tackle this issue.

'I mean, every single doorstep you go on, people say we want to secure our borders. We don't mind immigration that comes to this country. We celebrate immigration that comes to this country.

'We're proud to be a refuge for people who genuinely need to claim asylum here. But people want to have confidence that we know who's coming to this country, and we secure our borders.

'Shabana is doing that. She's tackling those issues, and she's been successful where previous home secretaries have not.'