He responded: “I am not a xenophobe. I am an MP and I represent the good folk of Huddersfield not Gdansk!”

Mr Sheerman explained the response.

“I don’t represent Gdansk, I represent Huddersfield. My interest as an MP is looking after the interests of people in Huddersfield,” he said.

“There are a lot of unemployed people in Huddersfield and I think they should have first crack at jobs rather than someone who arrived from Eastern Europe yesterday.

“The average young person in my constituency has got competition from every young person in Europe.

“I can see why everyone thinks our country is paved with gold – they all want to come here.

“I’m getting increasingly worried about the free movement of people across Europe.

“It’s a very competitive world out there and my constituents resent that.”

Mr Sheerman added that politicians should be free to express their views on immigration.

“I don’t see why I can’t say that I wish these chains would employ more British kids than kids that come from Eastern Europe,” he said.

“If we’re so politically correct then we stop representing people.

“When I’m told I can’t articulate the view that the people I represent should be first in line for jobs I find that irritatingly pernicious political correctness.

“If I can’t speak out for my constituents then heaven help us.”

Mr Sheerman added that he was not prejudiced against foreigners.

“I’m not anti-immigrant, I’m pro-my constituents getting jobs first in line,” he said.

“I have a long record fighting against prejudice. If anyone looks at my record in Parliament they will see that I’ve never been a prejudiced person – most people think I’ve been too liberal.”

“The high levels of immigration puts pressure on housing, hospitals and our schools.

“Every school I go to, the real problem is churn – people moving in, moving out. You have to be a miracle teacher to cope with that level of churn.”