Suella Braverman, who served as home secretary until last week, has led a Tory revolt over the government’s “failure” to halt migration after new figures put new arrivals at an all-time high.
Net migration peaked at 745,000 in the year to December 2022, which is a record high according to revised estimates published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday.
The data places migration levels at three higher than migration pre-Brexit.
Other newly released data also indicated that net migration for 2023, up until June, stood at 672,000.
That figure has risen from 607,000 for the same period in the previous 12 months.
Suella Braverman, sacked from her cabinet role last week, said on social media: “Today’s record numbers are a slap in the face to the British public who have voted to control and reduce migration at every opportunity.
“We must act now to reduce migration to sustainable levels. Brexit gave us the tools. It’s time to use them.”