Mr Miliband today called for Britain to "come together as a nation."

He said: "Britain is at its best when it comes together as a nation, not when it stands divided. That's what One Nation is about.

"But at the same time we know there is anxiety about immigration and what it means for our culture. The answer is not to sweep it under the carpet or fail to talk about it, nor is it to make promises that can't be kept.

"It is to deal with all of the issues that concern people."

Immigration minister Mark Harper today slammed the Labour leader for wading into the fight against mass immigration and called for an apology for allowing the situation to "get out of control."

Mr Harper said: "Ed Miliband's failure to apologise proves that Labour can never be trusted on immigration.

"They allowed the situation to get out of control, and have opposed every single step this Government is taking to control it.

"This Government has put a stop to Labour's mass immigration. We have already significantly reduced the flow of people coming into the country.

"The total number of visas issued is at its lowest since 2005 and we have cut net migration by a quarter this year."

The Prime Minister speaking at a press conference in Brussels in reaction to Mr Miliband's comments added: "I hope it [Miliband's speech] includes an explanation of how over the last 10 years a government of which he was a prominent member allowed a net migration per year of over 200,000 people to come to the UK.

"They presided over a completely broken immigration system that over 10 years saw over two million people net come to the UK. That is two cities the size of Birmingham.

PS - Most immigrants support (loony) Labour