Amber Rudd defends plans to make businesses reveal numbers of foreign workers – saying ‘don’t call me racist’

HOME Secretary Amber Rudd’s plans for a radical immigration crackdown risked a Tory civil war today after a savaging from the party’s Scottish leader.

Ruth Davidson lavished praise on economic migrants and trashed the Home Office proposal to name and shame firms by asking them to publish the proportion of foreign workers on their books.

Speaking to the BBC at the Tory Party conference, Ms Davidson said: “It’s not something that I would propose.”

It came as the Home Secretary mounted a passionate defence of the idea amid a furious backlash from business chiefs and Labour politicians, storming: “Don’t call me racist.”

She said it was right to “flush out” firms not doing enough to recruit or train up UK workers.

And she insisted the idea of asking companies to publish the proportion of international workers was one of the tools the Government could use to “nudge” companies in better behaviour.

She spoke of one manufacturer where 80 per cent of the staff were Romanian or Bulgarian and the company had made no attempt to find local staff.

She said: “We should be able to have a conversation about the skills we need.

“I don’t think we should have a situation where can’t talk about immigration.

“We must not ignore the fact that people want to talk about immigration and if we do talk about immigration don’t call me a racist.”

She added: “There are still one in ten 18-24 year-olds in the UK who are unemployed.

"I want businesses to think first about locally training people were possible…and work with us to deliver what we need to have which is a more skilled local labour force.”

Tory backbencher Tania Mathias said: "Excellent Conservative Party Conference.

"But I don't support forcing businesses to name the percentage of non-UK staff.

"Good firms have great mix of staff from the UK and abroad."

Lord Bilimoria, the founder of Cobra Beer and Birmingham Uni chancellor said the idea was “absolutely shocking”.

And The British Chambers of Commerce said big business with a global workforce shouldn’t be forced to wear a “badge of shame”.

Others said it echoed Gordon Brown’s much criticised British jobs for British workers blast in 2009
Mrs Rudd – a pro-EU campaign in the Referendum - insisted the plans were just proposals.

She said it was “not something we are definitely going to do”.

But aides insisted it would be in consultation going out later this year, alongside moves to force firms to advertise jobs to UK staff for longer and radical changes to the student visa regime
Jeremy Corbyn said the drawing up lists of foreign workers would only “foster division and discrimination”.

And Labour's outgoing Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham said the Government would face the "mother of all battles" if it tried to legislate.

He said: "The idea of British companies producing lists of foreign workers runs counter to everything that this country has ever stood for.

“It would be divisive, discriminatory and risks creating real hostility in workplaces and communities."