Boris Johnson supports illegal immigrants amnesty

Vote Leave campaigner Boris Johnson has said he is pro-immigration and supports an amnesty for illegal immigrants who have been in the UK for more than 12 years.

Speaking at an EU referendum campaign event today, Mr Johnson said: "I am the proud descendant of Turkish immigrants.

"I am in favour of an amnesty for illegal immigrants who have been here for more than 12 years unable to contribute to this economy, unable to pay taxes, unable to take proper part in society."

Mr Johnson said an amnesty would be humane and economically rational, and would enable Britain to "take back control" of immigration.

He added that introducing an Australia-style immigration points system would enable Britain to deal "fairly and justly" with every part of the world and "neutralise" extremists opposed to immigrants.

Voting to leave the EU would send a signal of discontent to the "people running the European Union", Michael Gove has said.

Speaking at an EU referendum campaign event, the leading Leave campaigner said Brexit would send the EU a message that Britain has solidarity with the "suffering" people of Greece, Spain and Portugal.

Mr Gove said leaving the EU would also send a message about a desire to end "the misery of the single currency" and to have "democracy restored across this great continent".

He added that youth unemployment and misery in Greece has created a "desperate situation in a wonderful country".

Nigel Farage has declined to repeat warnings that remaining the the EU could prompt Cologne-style sex attacks as he seemingly attempted to row back from a row.

The UKIP leader was asked if he stood by his highly controversial warnings of sex attacks on women by migrants on the Peston on Sunday show.

He replied: "The real point I'm making that part of an EU we've lost control of who can come into our country."

Mr Farage also insisted that he had not warned of rising violence within Britain as a result of migration levels; saying his comments had referred to other parts of Europe.

When asked if he was guilty of stirring up hatred, Mr Farage replied "I think I've been a victim of it to be honest with you." However he did concede that the Leave campaign had lost momentum as the referendum date approaches.

He said that he would be comfortable with migration level of around 30-50,000 people a year but said the most important thing was to start a debate.

Nigel Farage has hit out at George Osborne's suggestions that Brexit would primarily benefit the rich.

The UKIP leader said that it was the less well-off who were most suffering in an appearance on the Peston on Sunday show today.

"It is those at the poorer end of the scale who struggle to get their kids into schools, who can't get GP appointments and whose children and grandchildren cannot get on the housing ladder."

The death of Labour MP Jo Cox should inspire a less divisive political debate, Chancellor George Osborne has said.

Speaking on ITV's Peston on Sunday, Mr Osborne said there should be less "baseless assertions and inflammatory rhetoric" in the lead up to the June 23 referendum, and more "reasoned argument and facts".

He said there was a distinction to be made between addressing legitimate concerns about migration and “whipping up division” or "putting up that disgusting and vile poster that Nigel Farage did, which had echoes of literature used in the 1930s".

The chancellor paid tribute to Ms Cox and said he hopes there will be a memorial at Westminster "not just to her tragic death but to her incredible life".

Addressing the topic of the upcoming referendum, Mr Osborne said there would be no turning back if Britain votes to leave the EU.

"It's a one-way door to a much more uncertain world, where people's jobs, and their livelihoods are at risk," he said.

"If we vote to remain, we can have a prosperous and stronger economy going forward."

The influx of migrants into Britain should be blamed on poor regulation of working conditions, not on migrants themselves, Jeremy Corbyn has said.

Speaking on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show, the Labour leader said "endless" newspaper headlines have blamed everything on migration "without ever being prepared to look at the reality of the exploitation of people in this country and across Europe".

"Now there are several hundred people working on zero-hour contracts that have been shipped in from elsewhere," he said.

"The answer to that isn't to blame them. The answer is yes, on one level to blame Mike Ashley, but the other level is to blame the lack of regulation of working conditions both here and in other parts of Europe."

Mr Corbyn said the real issue is to improve working conditions and rights across Europe and target people making money out of exploitation.

A Brexit could lead to a host of other states in eastern Europe following the UK out of the bloc, Luxembourg's foreign minister has said.

Jean Asselborn said that David Cameron had committed a "historic mistake" by sanctioning a national referendum on the issue.

He warned a decision to lead could rigger a wave of instability and defections in an interview with the German Tagesspiegel am Sonntag newspaper.

He added that even a vote to stay will not lay the issue to rest as it will not deal with the "negative attitude of the British" towards the EU.