Sir Keir Starmer's heated exchange with caller over Channel migrants on Jeremy Vine show

Sir Keir Starmer found himself in hot water with a member of the public during a TV interview with Jeremy Vine.

Speaking on the journalist's Channel 5 show today (21 March) the Labour Party leader accused the Conservative government of trying to be "flashy" instead of addressing the migrant problem head-on. According to government figures, hundreds of migrants are crossing the English Channel in small boats every week.

On the show, Vine fielded phone calls from members of the public, with one caller - named Pat - raising concerns about small boat crossings.

Pat said: "They're coming over these people, taking up places homeless people could use."

Sir Keir responded: "Pat, we've got to stop these boats coming over. It's a massive problem and gives a sense of having lost a sense of our borders.

"What I would do is start with the gangs running this awful trade and take them down. When I was chief prosecutor we worked to take down terrorist gangs moving people and drugs across borders.

"I would also process the claims that are here. They're being housed in hotels as you know and the returns have gone down by 40 per cent.

"It may sound mundane and not as flashy as the Rwanda campaign

Pat said: "You've not really answered my question - is it going to stop it? It's costing a huge amount to put them up in hotels and we need something done."

"The only way to stop it is to smash the gangs that are causing it. Those boats are being made more or less to order - it is not impossible to take down a business model like that. But until we do that we don't have a foot in the door, we need to stop them from coming here in the first place."

Elsewhere on the programme, Sir Keir accused the government of "salting the earth" ahead of the next general election, suggesting that Rishi Sunak was "trying to max out the credit cards". He also fielded questions about the situation in Gaza and the potential privatisation of the NHS - the latter he took firmly off the table.

Vine also asked the Labour Party leader about the ongoing drama and online conspiracy theories surrounding the Princess of Wales.

"We should leave her alone," Sir Keir said. "She's had a difficult operation and deserves privacy. I think politicians advising the royal family would be wrong but as a human being we should just butt out and leave her be.

"That's not really a political response, it's a human one."

On weight loss medication he said: "I wouldn't take it [Ozempic]. I'd just spend more time on the five-a-side pitch."