SHADOW Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was in Swindon yesterday to discuss the issue of immigration.

The MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castle spent more than an hour at the Walcot Dome fielding questions and finding out what people felt about the issue.

During the event, arranged by Labour's parliamentary candidate for South Swindon Anne Snelgrove, she repeated her admission that the previous Labour government had made mistakes but was confident the party now had the answers.

At last May’s local election UKIP received more than 20 per cent of the popular vote in Swindon but the Shadow Home Secretary said it was her party which had the answers.

She added: “I have said in the past Labour have got things wrong on immigration. We should have had transitional controls on immigration from Eastern Europe but I think UKIP would make the problem worse.

“I don’t think they are setting out answers, I think they are exploiting people’s fears. One thing we talked about today is making sure people with criminal records are not coming into this country. UKIP wouldn’t sign up to sharing information with other European countries about crime and criminal records, making it harder to stop criminals coming into Britain. So I don’t think they have practical answers.”

The residents present were split into groups where they discussed issues they felt were important, from dealing with immigrants who have criminal pasts to making sure the public are aware of the facts.

Mrs Cooper said: “What a lot of people were saying is we need to counteract many of the myths, but also make sure we recognise that immigration is important to Britain. It’s got to be properly controlled and managed so the system is fair.

"We were talking about different reforms you can bring in to make the system fairer.

“I think over centuries people have come to Britain to set up companies or win gold medals. People have always come to Britain, contributed and been part of a country and built our economy and public services.

"People we talked to in Swindon don’t want completely closed borders and they didn’t want no controls. What they wanted was a fair system that was controlled and managed.”

Speaking after the event, Anne Snelgrove said: “I was very pleased with our immigration event because it gave people a chance to air their views on an important issue with the Shadow Home Secretary. Yvette and I listened carefully to the discussion groups and although there were some disagreements, it was good that there was a lot of common ground.

“The audience welcomed Labour’s plans, such as stopping employment agencies only recruiting abroad to fill Swindon jobs, and wanted politicians to treat refugees differently to illegal immigrants.

“Many people raise immigration with me so I know it’s a big concern locally. I’m determined to make sure local views continue to be taken into account by the Labour Party, and the packed hall showed that there’s a real appetite for these topical debates in Swindon.”