Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has vowed to slash 100,000 visas in a bid to take back control of Britain’s borders.

Cooper, who will address MPs about her migration White Paper later today, sat-down with GB News to discuss her plan after Sir Keir Starmer promised Britons net migration would fall under his watch.

Speaking to the People’s Channel, the Home Secretary said: “Already we’re reducing the visas that we’re issuing, that’s already happening.

“Already we’re increasing returns - enforced returns are up more than 20 per cent since the election.

“And these measures go further. For example, some of the measures around working visas the skilled-workers visa, the care worker visa, the settlement rules, and the English language rules - those together would mean a reduction of 100,000 fewer visas, or fewer people arriving, just as a result of those measures”

Cooper hinted that further measures - including a workforce strategy, stronger rules around families and an immigration skills charge - could lead to further reductions in the future.

Visa exploitation has run rife through Britain’s care sector, with GB News already uncovering a surge in labour probes after more than 550,000 health and care visas were handed out following the Brexit transition period.

However, the Home Secretary refused to get drawn on how much net migration should fall by.

When pushed by Christopher Hope on whether she would would set a net migration cap below 500,000, Cooper said: “We absolutely need to be substantially down.”

Net migration stood at just 321,000 in June 2016, with Covid-lockdowns bringing annual figures down to the tens of thousands.

The rate surged to an eyewatering 906,000 in June 2023, remaining at an unusually high 728,000 in June 2024.

Sir Keir Starmer also stopped short of imposing an overall net migration cap.

Speaking from Downing Street earlier today, the Prime Minister said: "I am promising it will fall significantly and I do want to get it down by the end of this Parliament significantly."

Unveiling his plans to solve the migrant crisis, Starmer announced that living in the UK is a privilege that must be earned, adding that Labour's new migration White Paper will reduce Britain's reliance on overseas recruitment.

The White Paper also seeks to end automatic settlement and citizenship for anyone living here for five years.

Migrants will instead need to spend a decade in the UK before applying to stay unless they can show a real and lasting contribution to the economy and society.