'Illegal Migration A Challenge To Any Country": Rishi Sunak To NDTV

Illegal migration is a fundamental challenge to the sovereignty of a country, former United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Friday at the NDTV World Summit 2025.

The UK, he said, is a 'multi-faith, multi-ethnic democracy' that is welcoming of skilled migrant workers looking to contribute to the country, but they must integrate with British society.

Failure to do undermines the tolerance at the heart of any society's fabric, Sunak warned.

The former Prime Minister was widely seen as cracking down on illegal entry into the United Kingdom, framing the issue as one of equality, i.e., ensuring non-UK nationals who emigrate lawfully are not penalised or miss out on opportunities to those who try and enter the country without following the rules.

"I took action because I come from a family of migrants... and the issue of illegal migration bothers me. I made a commitment to myself when I entered politics... that I am not going to change who I am," he said, emphasising the continued public embrace of his Hindu roots.

"It is government that decides who can come to the country... and who cannot," he said.

Sunak, Prime Minister between October 2022 and July 2024, has publicly acknowledged his roots - his grandparents emigrated to the UK from British India, via East Africa, in the 1960s.

He was born in Southampton in 1980 and is a practicing Hindu, and is married to Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murty.

Sunak's Indian roots and heritage, apart from signifying a 'full circle moment' in post-colonial history, also re-focused attention on the idea of multi-culturalism in contemporary Britain.

Against that background, Sunak's policy on migration was closely observed.

That policy was challenged in the aftermath of the pandemic, a significant period of which overlapped with his time as Chancellor of the Exchequer and, later, as Prime Minister.

Migration, as a whole, "exploded" after Covid, Sunak said. "So, I took strict measures," he said, referring to measures to try and offset pressure on public services, particularly healthcare and labour, that arose naturally due to increased numbers of illegal migrants.

The former UK Prime Minister also spoke on a number of other topics, including his fondness for cricket and the behind-the-scenes scoop on his proposal to Akshata Murthy.

Illegal migration is a matter of concern for India too, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party red-flagging irregular cross-border movement from Bangladesh as a major national security and demographic issue, particularly ahead of the election in Bengal - which shares a border with that country - next year.