I believe Britishness is defined not on ethnic and exclusive grounds but through shared values, our history of tolerance, openness and internationalism and our commitment to democracy and liberty, to civic duty and the public space.

We have put over £2bn in the last three years into counter-terrorism and we are developing the electronic border surveillance and identity cards

I have built my reputation on honesty, I have sometimes been too honest.

But any perception of this application being speeded up requires me to take responsibility.

I regret the time and resources needed to undertake this but... it is right to lay this accusation to rest.

I can hear people smile.

I said it's impossible to have an amnesty without ID cards and a clean database, because you firstly don't have any incentives for people to actually come up front and register, and make themselves available, and secondly you have no means of tracking them.