The Labour leader is facing a backlash after he named Bangladesh as an example of a place where people might be removed to if his party wins government.

During a debate hosted by The Sun newspaper earlier this week, he argued that the Conservative government’s failure to "process" the claims of asylum seekers meant they could not be sent back.

Vowing to get tough on returns, he said: "In the first few days of government … I’ll make sure that we’ve got planes going off, not to Rwanda, because that’s an expensive gimmick. They will go back to the countries where people come from."

"At the moment, people coming from countries like Bangladesh are not being removed," the Labour leader said. He did not make clear that he was referring to those without permission to settle in the UK.  

Starmer’s comments came as another Labour politician, Jonathan Ashworth also singled out Bangladeshi migrants in a media interview on Wednesday (June 25). 

"Those people who shouldn’t be here, when they come from countries like Bangladesh or wherever, we’re going to send them back," he told the BBC.

According to the latest figures, most asylum seekers arriving in the UK in the 12 months to the end of March, 2024, were from Afghanistan and Iran, countries to which migrants cannot be returned. The vast majority arrived across the English Channel. Ashworth would not answer questions about those countries, saying instead that Labour believes it can deal with people coming "from the Indian subcontinent (who) do not get returned."

"They get put up in hotels and they can stay in these hotels for the rest of their lives," he said.

Party criticism

Starmer’s remarks provoked a backlash within Labour, which has seven candidates of Bangladeshi origin standing in the election on July 4.

Sabina Akhtar, a local councillor, resigned from the party, saying: "I cannot be proud of this party anymore when the leader (…) singles out my community and insults my Bangladeshi identity. …it is clear the direction [the party] is heading in is unacceptable to me and my community." 

Nash Ali, another Labour councillor and former mayor, said he was shocked by what Starmer and Ashworth had said and that he did not agree with singling out a community.

But, posting on X, Ali insisted that Starmer is "a friend of the Bangladeshi community."

He also reposted comments from the Labour Party statement claiming that the clip circulated on social media had been edited and that "Bangladesh was only used as an example, as there is already a bilateral agreement between the two countries."

"The relationship between the Labour Party and the British Bangladeshi community, as well as Bangladesh, is deep-rooted," the statement from Labour continued.

But Labour’s parliamentary candidate Apsana Begum, an MP since 2019 and self-described leading advocate for migrant rights, accused Starmer of "dog-whistle racism" and scapegoating the Bangladeshi community.

Mish Rahman, a member of Labour’s National Executive Committee, also warned that Starmer had joined in on the scapegoating of migrants on the heels of the rise of the far right in Europe. Speaking to the online news site PoliticsHome, he accused Labour of using "a ham-fisted yet vicious approach (towards ethnic minorities)."

Criticism also came from candidates from other political parties including the Greens and the Workers Party of Britain. WPB leader George Galloway, launched a dramatic attack on Starmer over the clip, saying Bangladeshis had been loyal supporters of British Labour, "only to see themselves on TV being spoken about as if they were illegal aliens arriving on the beach, on the south coast."

Also read: The stories Bangladeshi migrants told on a rescue ship in the Mediterranean

Return deal

The Labour leader said on Thursday that he had not intended to cause any concern or offence to Bangladeshis, "who are making such an enormous contribution to our country."

He said he had cited Bangladesh because it was "a safe country" and that the returns agreement between the two countries was "a good thing."

The details of that agreement, signed by the UK and Bangladesh last month, are not known, and the Home Office did not answer questions from InfoMigrants about whether the deal is already operating or whether any Bangladeshis have been returned since it was agreed.

The government press release about the deal states that the removal of the interview requirement for "cases where there is good supporting evidence for removal" will make it easier to return "failed asylum seekers, foreign national offenders and individuals who have overstayed their visas."

Most Bangladeshis arrive by regular routes

A look at government figures suggests that a relatively small proportion of Bangladeshi migrants in the UK fall into these categories.

In 2021, "ethnic" Bangladeshis made up 1.1 percent of the total population of England and Wales, with nearly half living in London.

In terms of all new immigrants arriving in the UK in 2023, Bangladeshis were the seventh-largest group, with 33,000 nationals. (Indians ranked highest, with 250,000 arrivals.)

Very few Bangladeshi migrants come to the UK irregularly by boat. Paula Barker, a Labour candidate, noted in a post on X: "Bangladeshis do not come here illegally."

Most Bangladeshis enter the UK on international student, worker or visitor visas. In May, a report in The Telegraph newspaper claimed that 11,000 who entered this way subsequently applied for asylum, although the time period that figure referred to was unclear.

Details about asylum applications are harder to obtain. According to government figures, last year around 5,500 asylum claims in total were lodged by Bangladeshis. Some of these claims have yet to be processed.

Of the decisions issued by the Home Office last year on first-time asylum applications lodged by Bangladeshis, more than 20 percent were positive, meaning those migrants were granted protection. After appeals are counted, the positive grant rate is certain to be higher.

In the UK, those who do not leave the country after their asylum claim is rejected or their visa expires are usually detained, unless they abscond, so the number being held in immigration detention is an indication of how many will be eligible for removal (though not everyone in detention will be deported, as some are bailed or receive leave to enter or remain in the country.)

On March 31, 2024, there were just 13 Bangladeshis in immigration detention across the country. From January 1 to the end of March, three detained Bangladeshi migrants were sent home, while a fourth person recorded as a "foreign national offender" was also returned to Bangladesh.