Rishi Sunak ditches pledge to place cap on refugee numbers

Prime minister sets face firmly against introduction of ID cards

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought into Dover (PA)

Rishi Sunak has ditched a key pledge from his Conservative leadership campaign to impose a cap on the number of refugees taken in by the UK each year.

The prime minister said that it would not be possible to consider a cap until the flow of migrants crossing the Channel from France by dinghy has been halted – something he admits will not happen “overnight”.

Meanwhile, Mr Sunak set his face firmly against compulsory ID cards, after a Labour shadow minister floated them as a method of reducing irregular immigration.