CALLING for more Bangladeshis to be deported wasn't meant to "cause concern or offence", Sir Keir Starmer insisted today.
But amid furious backlash, the Labour chief stuck to his comment at The Sun's Election Showdown that more illegal migrants should be returned to their home state.
At a campaign stop in Staffordshire he said: "I’ve got many Bangladeshi constituents in my own constituency I've been working with for many years.
“And I want to build on that in government and to recognise the success that is already there.
“The reference in the debate the other day, was an example of a country that is considered safe as far as asylum concerns and one of the countries that actually has a returns agreement with us.
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“That is actually a good thing that we and Bangladesh should be proud of that we have this returns agreement.
“I certainly wasn’t intending to cause any concern or offence to any Bangladeshi community here."
Sir Keir's comments on The Sun's Election Showdown sparked an explosive row after he singled out Bangladesh as somewhere not enough illegal migrants are sent back to.
The Labour chief told a live audience of Sun readers: "I’ll put the staff back in the returns unit, I’ll make sure I’ve got planes going off, not to Rwanda because that’s an expensive gimmick.
"At the moment people coming from countries like Bangladesh are not being removed because they’re not being processed."
But only 108 asylum applications were recorded from the South Asian country in the last four quarters, including dependants.
Edited clips of the comments have been shared across Bangladeshi community WhatsApp groups and triggered fire and fury among activists with ties to the South Asian state.
Yesterday the Deputy Leader of Tower Hamlets Labour resigned over the comments.
In a scathing statement Sabina Akhtar said: "I was a proud Labour party member, but I find I cannot be proud of this party anymore when the leader singles out my community and insults my Bangladeshi identity."
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Candidates representing large Bangladeshi communities jumped to distance themselves from the comments.
Uma Kumaran posted on X: "I understand why many are upset about an edited clip they have seen online.
"Across Stratford and Bow we are enriched by the pioneering contributions and the hard work of the British Bangladeshi people.
"I will always stand up for our Bangladeshi community."
Amid the backlash, Bridget Phillipson told Never Mind The Ballots: "Bangladesh is an example of one of a number of countries where we have a bilateral agreement in place so that we can return people where it's determined that they don't have a right to be here in the UK.
"I think we have seen in recent times as well similar arrangements with Albania that's meant that we've been able to speed up the processing of cases and returning people where they don't have a right to be here.
"That's the principle that is driving it, making sure we've got a fair system that works for the British people."
The Shadow Education Secretary added: "I think what the public want and what I want to see and what a Labour government will deliver if we have the opportunity, is a fair and functioning asylum system and a fair and functioning immigration system.
"There is an important, I think, national story around the contribution that migrants have made to our country. They worked in the NHS, served in the armed forces - and it's about having a fair system where people are aware of their rights and their responsibilities.
"Where people don't have a right to be in our country we make sure that they are returned elsewhere."
