It comes after revised official estimates revealed net migration to the UK hit a record high of nearly one million last year.
The difference between the number of people entering Britain and those leaving reached 906,000 in the year to June 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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“Immigration policy failed… and it failed to do what the British people had wanted”Conservative and former government minister Jacob Rees Mogg apologises for the last Government’s immigration policy, but disputes the lower pre-Brexit figures
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime)
He offered an apology to the public, condeding that “we failed, and we were culpable for that, because we were in charge. There are all sorts of reasons why we failed.”
Asked what went wrong, he said it was partly a response to , and that there was a “feeling that it was going to be very hard to find people to fill jobs.
“Partly it was the way that economic growth was scored by the OBR, and it was thought that migration would boost growth, and would allow tax revenues to rise and to pay for public services that people want,” he added.
Mr Rees-Mogg also said it was partly because a new system was brought in “which allowed too many people to come in”.
Asked how he felt as a strong proponent of Britain leaving the EU that the figures for net migration were lower pre- than post-, he said the figures were “completely wrong” before.
“The pre- figures, it was thought that about two million would register as a right to stay here post-, the figure was over five million when it was finally created.
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“So for years, the ONS was giving us wrong figures on the people coming from the . So yes, I do dispute that they were lower beforehand, because they were simply wrong. They had an extra three million plus people who had come in who noone was recording.”
Regular host Fiona Bruce is also joined by secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy MP broadcaster Mariella Frostrup, former Cabinet minister Rory Stewart and Professor Anand Menon, director of the political research institute, UK in a Changing Europe.
Immigration has seen a sharp rise in response to a points-based system for work visas put the put in place after .
‘s government also allowed graduates to stay in the country for longer to find a job, as well as expanding the visa route for workers in healthcare.
The rules were then tightened by his successor but one which contributed to the fall seen this year. The measures included raising work via salary thresholds, and restricting the ability of international students and care workers to bring family members to Britain.