David Cameron grilled over immigration by audience in TV Brexit showdown with Nigel Farage
Voters slam PM for failing to bring down migration levels or negotiate a better deal for Britain in the European Union
DAVID Cameron was last night blasted for failing the nation over immigration by a Tory voter who accused him of betraying supporters.
The Prime Minister told the studio audience for the live debate that cutting ties with Brussels was a 'bad way' to slash the number of immigrants coming to Britain.
And he said people should not vote for the 'Little England of Nigel Farage'.
But in a fiery exchange in the second TV showdown of the Referendum campaign, the PM was told huge numbers of people coming to Britain in the past decade had created no-go zones.
Father-of-three Harry Boparai told the Prime Minister he had allowed 'uncontrolled immigration', which had caused his family's quality of life to plummet.
Mr Boparai said: "I have no GP as they are all full in my area, I can’t get on the housing ladder and have three kids in one room.
"The place where I grew up was once a lovely area but it is now a no-go zone.
"How is the EU and uncontrolled immigration working for me, a 40-year-old Brit who has been working full time since the age of 16?"
Airport worker Harry Boparai who tackled David Cameron last night saying 'uncontrolled immigration' had prevented him from being able to buy a house
The Prime Minister responded: "I would say really frankly that if we want to build houses, if we want to invest in our health service, if we want good schools for our children, we have got to strengthen and safeguard our economy.
"Coming out of the single market, which is what the Leave campaign want to do, that would damage our economy."
But Mr Boparai, an airport worker, hit back: "Sorry Mr Cameron.
"I voted for you in the last election because one of the things on your manifesto was to get immigration down.
"You haven’t been able to do that because you’re not allowed to do that. That’s the bottom line.
"I've seen my standard of living and my family’s standard of living go down because of this influx that we cannot control.
"I’m sorry to say but your closing statement last week was 'if we leave the EU, we’re rolling a dice with our children’s future'.
"I think quite the opposite. By you telling us to stay in, you’ve rolled that dice already."
The Prime Minister was told it was ridiculous there were strict controls on talented workers from Asia when migrants from the EU could walk across the border at any time.
And business owner Anthony Gould said the PM’s failure to wrestle back control from Brussels meant “you were basically humiliated”.
He said he wanted to recruit skilled workers – but instead Britain was being flooded with low skill workers.
But the PM insisted: "Obviously control of immigration is an important issue and important challenge and one of the ways we try and control it from the rest of the world is we should do more to train our own people here to do the jobs the British economy is delivering.
"If there is a shortage of a particular occupation we say to business OK, go and seek that overseas, but what I want to see is more apprenticeships, more people going to university, more young people trained to do the jobs our economy is creating.
"That, probably, is the best way of reducing immigration and making sure there are jobs and livelihoods for our people.
"I think there are good ways of controlling immigration and immigration and there are bad ways of controlling immigration."
"A good way is saying people can come here... but they have to pay in before they can get out.
"And when it comes to immigration from outside the EU - which of course is more than half - we do put a limit on the numbers for economic reasons."
The PM insisted his crackdown on migrant benefits would help relieve the pressure and repeated the only way of building new schools and hospitals was to have a strong economy.
He insisted voting to Leave was the “little England” option as it could spark the break-up of Britain by encouraging Scots to vote for independence.
The PM appeared in the ITV debate after Ukip chief Nigel Farage, with both spending 30 minutes fielding questions from the studio audience.
Mr Farage was forced to defend claims he was inciting racism with “scaremongering” about the migrant wave that could swamp Britain if we vote to Remain on June 23.
He insisted he was misquoted when appearing to say voting to stay in the EU would trigger a wave of migrant sex attacks similar to those in Cologne, Germany, on New Year’s Eve.
These comments were condemned by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby who told a Home Affairs select committee they 'legitimised racism' and were 'inexcusable pandering to people's worries and prejudices'.
And on last night's debate Tola Jaiyeola attacked Nigel Farage for his comments, asking him: "What I would like to know is how you can have the audacity to use such blatant scaremongering tactics for the leave campaign?
"In light of the recent horrific sexual assaults in Germany, you have basically suggested a vote for remain is a vote for British women to be subjected to the same horrific assaults."
Mr Farage replied: "Just calm down there a little bit.
"Sometimes in life, what it says at the top of a newspaper page and what you have actually said can be slightly different things.
"I am used to being demonised because I am taking on the establishment."
Ms Jaiyeola told Farage he was 'demonising migrants' but he responded: "When I first suggested we have a Australian-style points system, you would think I had something dreadful and now I am pleased to say lots of people are saying it.
After telling him that wasn't what he asked, Mr Farage replied: "What I said about Cologne was that it's a huge issue in Germany, it's a huge issue in Sweden, I think Angela Merkel has made a big mistake by saying please, anyone come, and what has happened is a very large number of young, single males have settled in Germany and Sweden who come from cultures where attitudes toward women are different.
"I have not scaremongered in any way."
Ms Jaiyeola asked if he was ‘embarrassed’ that Mr Welby accused him of legitimising racism.
Mr Farage said: ‘I’m not going to stand here and attack the Archbishop of Canterbury but I think he would have done better to have read actually what I said and not just what the headline was.
‘He would do well to see what the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany said because he has made some very robust comments indeed.’
Ms Jaiyeola said: ‘You’re targeting a certain group of people and using them as bate to prey upon British people’s rational fears about mass migration.’
Mr Farage said: ‘This is an issue for the future – it’s a tiddly little issue in as far as I’m concerned in this campaign. But I knew at some point in this campaign the Remainers would come for me and try and conflate something I had said out of all proportion.
"I do believe in border controls, I do believe we need to have a sensible balanced migration policy, and I do believe Germany have made a bad mistake."
Imrie Morgan, a blogger and diversity campaigner, told him: “I know a lot of people, I have access to a predominantly black British audience, and a lot of the concerns they have raised, along with concerns I have as well, is that you are going to increase the fear and discrimination of black British people through your anti-immigration rhetoric.
"Are you encouraging racism?
"You are anti-immigration.
"You have used inflammatory comments in your campaign that have gone against people that look non-white.”
When Mr Farage suggested she 'wanted to think that', Ms Morgan continued: "I don’t think that, the majority of people that look black British or are non white have those concerns.
"You’re dismissing that."
Mr Farage said: "Lots of them voted for my party in the last election, stand for us as candidates… you’re not listening, are you. I can’t do a lot if I’m not allowed to talk.
“The project doesn't work.
“I want us to get back our independence but to say we will be good Europeans. We will trade with Europe, we’ll co-operate with Europe, but govern ourselves.”
When an audience member that EU nations would threaten a backlash if Britain votes for Brexit, Mr Farage said: "We’re better than that, we’re not going to be bullied by anybody – least of all, charming as he may be, Jean Claude Junker."
Giving her verdict on the debate, Energy Secretary Amber Rudd said: “Both men came to face tough questions and the PM was the one able to deal with them.
“The PM won comprehensively. He gave a very clear case for staying in.”
The testy exchange will only build pressure on the Remain campaign after a week where rising concerns over immigration has given the Brexit camp the lead in three polls.
Tory MP Tom Pursglove last night accused Mr Cameron of talking “waffle on immigration”.
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