A Muslim woman running to be London's next mayor has claimed the UK has allowed Islamists to thrive due to political correctness, and has called for a halt to legal migration.

Laila Cunningham said such a staunch stance on foreign nationals was “absolutely necessary” to restore public services, wages and social cohesion.

Ms Cunningham, a former crown prosecution lawyer who also set up her own technology start-up for female professionals, has caused controversy with her comments about fellow Muslims. She has said that women wearing the burqa should be stopped and searched, as it “has to be assumed … you're hiding it for a criminal reason”.

But speaking in a wide-ranging interview, Ms Cunningham, 48, defended her stance and told On the Record that mass migration since the 1990s has been used as a substitute for British labour and has suppressed wages, skills and technology.

In 1991, net migration to the UK was 44,000 according to the Office for National Statistics, rising to 163,000 by the end of the decade. It remained broadly similar for the next 15 years or so before escalating after Brexit. It reached a peak of 944,000 in 2023 before falling back to 171,000 last year.

“It’s not demonising anyone. It’s about prioritising British people first,” she told the show, which airs on Sky News Arabia and The Nationa

“People say that migration is necessary for GDP, but people don’t experience migration in that way, on the ground. They experience it not getting housing, GP appointments, social cohesion, their towns are changing.”

She said the UK’s approach to integration has broken down as numbers rose.

“When immigration is in small numbers, you have to assimilate and integrate. But what we’ve seen is that when it comes in large numbers, they overtake certain parts, they tend to dominate.”

Resist Comment.  This is the first muslim who makes sense.  If you live in London we urge you to vote for her.