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May Vows To Get Tough With Asylum Cheats

Theresa May has pledged to introduce tougher controls for migrants who abuse Britain's immigration system in her speech at the Conservative Party conference.

The Home Secretary said she would combine strict new rules for people who try to game the system with greater generosity for those suffering amid conflict around the globe.

She said the Government would introduce "safe return reviews" which could see refugees sent back to their home country if conditions there have clearly improved.

And she said the UK would distinguish between vulnerable people resettled from their own region and those who claim asylum after abusing the visa system or travelling through safe countries - with the latter group not guaranteed the right to settle in Britain.

Mrs May also pledged to end the "absurdity" of EU nationals seeking asylum in the UK as she addressed the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.

She revealed that 551 asylum claims have been made over the past five years by citizens of EU member states, at a cost of £4.2m to taxpayers.

Mrs May said: "We will end this absurdity, saving public money and creating space in our asylum system to help more people who really need our protection.

"By taking a tougher approach to those who do not need our help, we can give more support to vulnerable people who are in real and urgent need of our protection.

"So there is no case, in the national interest, for immigration of the scale we have experienced over the last decade."

Mrs May said "not in a thousand years" would Britain sign up to a Europe-wide common immigration and asylum policy to tackle problems like the Syrian migrant crisis.

She added: "To those who say the answer to this challenge is more integration, I say look at the countries in Europe who signed up to Schengen but are now putting up fences and re-establishing border checks.

"To those who say the problem is too great for nation states to resolve themselves, I say it can only be resolved by nation states taking responsibility themselves - and protecting their own national borders."

There was swift and angry reaction to Mrs May's speech from business leaders and politicians alike.

Mrs May's speech came amid speculation on the fringes of the conference over who will succeed Prime Minister David Cameron as Tory leader.

Boris Johnson, who will delivered his last conference speech as London mayor today, is widely perceived to be falling behind rivals including Chancellor George Osborne.

Mr Johnson warned his Conservative colleagues of the need to protect the lowest paid workers amid growing calls for Mr Osborne to rethink cuts to tax credits.

He told activists they must use the election of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to seize the mantle of the party which helps all people succeed.

On the first day of the conference, Mr Osborne announced a radical devolution of business rates to local councils .

As the centrepiece of his speech, Mr Osborne announced the uniform business rate set in Whitehall will be scrapped, and local councils will take control of the setting of the controversial levy.

There have been angry protests around the entrance to the Manchester conference, leading Mr Corbyn to call on those demonstrating against Conservative policies to avoid "personal abuse" .

The Labour leader urged activists to take part in "civilised debate" as he spoke in Manchester city centre.