A Conservative government would triple the use of stop and search powers in high crime areas in England and Wales, the shadow home secretary has said.

In a speech to his party’s conference, Chris Philp said the move would was vital to prevent knife crime.

He also promised to recruit an extra 10,000 police officers if the Tories win the next general election.

And he set out plans he said would ensure “sustained negative net migration” by setting a binding annual cap on immigration.

Net migration in the UK – the difference between the numbers entering and leaving the country – stood at 690,100 in the year to June 2024.

During their 14 years in government, the Conservatives consistently failed to meet their ambition to reduce it to the “tens of thousands”.

But Philp said the next Conservative government would ensure more people leave than arrive by setting an annual binding target voted on each year by Parliament.

“Let me say this: the days of mass, low-skill migration has to end,” he told the Tory conference in Manchester.

“And that is why we will ensure that those who have come already to work, but have then not worked or have only worked on low wages, they must leave when their visa expires.

“And that is why only those who are making a contribution can stay here permanently, and those who are not citizens cannot expect to receive any benefits funded by taxpayers.”

Turning to law and order, Philp set out plans to hire 10,000 extra police officers at a cost of £800m a year, which he said would be funded by some of the savings proposed by Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride in his conference speech.

And he said he would increase police use of stop and search if he becomes home secretary.

“It’s insane that the smell of cannabis alone, or somebody wearing a menacing mask alone, does not generally allow, legally, a stop and search,” he said.

“Now in my view, a single suspicion indicator should be enough.

“So, in our hotspot areas, we will allow routine stop and search without suspicion. Anyone can be searched.

“We will change the law to do this, and we will triple the use of stop and search.

“Lives will be saved and knives will be taken off our streets. We have the courage to do that, Labour does not.”

In 2014, then Conservative Home Secretary Theresa May tightened up the rules on stop and search after an inquiry found 27% of police searches may have been illegal.

When misused, stop and search was “an enormous waste of police time” and “an unacceptable affront to justice”, she said at the time.

But the policy was reversed in 2019 by her successor Sajid Javid, who made it easier to making it easier for officers to search people without reasonable suspicion in places where serious violence may occur.

In April 2022, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), made 18 recommendations to police forces across England and Wales to address the “disproportionate use of stop-and-search on people from black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds”.