The leader of the Scottish Labour Party has slammed “narrow minded” Leave campaigners over their attacks on immigration.
Kezia Dugdale said a “passionate defence” of those coming to the UK was necessary to counter the “scare stories” from Brexiteers.
Her intervention comes amid reports the Tories are on the verge of all-out civil war over recent migration figures, which show 184,000 came to the UK from the EU last year.
David Cameron had pledged to reduce the figure to fewer than 100,000 – and it has been suggested he could face a leadership challenge even if he wins the June 23 ballot.
But, in a newspaper column yesterday, Ms Dugdale said: “In the world of so many of those campaigning to leave the EU, particularly the likes of UKIP leader Nigel Farage and Tories like Iain Duncan Smith, immigration is to blame for all of our problems.
“Bad jobs figures? Blame immigration. Problems in the NHS? Blame immigration.
“All too rarely do we hear politicians make a passionate defence of immigration. It’s considered an unwritten rule of politics that being too pro-immigration is a no-no.
“I disagree.”
Parties from across the political spectrum have held rallies recently in support of remaining in the EU, although a number of Tory MSPs have said they will back Brexit.
Leave campaigners argue free movement of people in the EU means it is impossible to reduce immigration, adding strain to public services such as the NHS.
But Ms Dugdale added: “It’s a simple fact of life that to grow our economy and to pay the pensions of our increasingly older population, we need to attract people from across the world to the UK.
“We need young people to study in our universities, we need scientists to support our research projects, we need business leaders to invest in our communities.
“Shutting ourselves off from the world isn’t just narrow minded, it makes no economic sense.”