Thatcher plays on ¡allaghal record

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Tory leader Margaret Thatcher put her personal stamp of venom on her party's vicious immigration proposals at the weekend.

In a populist speech to the Tory Central Council in Leicester, she described opposition to the anti-black laws she proposes as "humbug' But she reserved her sharpest remarks to show that Labour politicians did not in fact oppose the measures to shut black families out of the country.

"Every time we have brought in tighter controls over immigration Labour politicians have attacked us. They have fought our proposals root and branch. They have accused us of every sin in the book.

"But they do not repeal the laws we introduce when they come to office. Indeed, I recall that the present Prime Minister brought in more controls when he was Home Secretary"

More reactionary Time and again in her speech Thatcher referred to Callaghan's spell at the Home Office-when he showed himself to be more reactionary on race and immigration than many Tory Home Secretaries.

Labour politicians have no basis for attacking the Tory proposals because their own plans are riddled through and through with racialism.

The Select Committee report on immigration did more to show the unanimity of thinking between Labour and Conservative politicians on race than all the protestations of Rees manage to conjure up any division.

*Thatcher builds on Labour immigration fever, see page 5.