Labour will not imitate Ukip's hostile and divisive stance on immigration despite Nigel Farage's party's huge success in the local and European elections, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said.

Ms Cooper said her party would not seek cheap headlines by exploiting fears or sit on the sidelines in the debate but instead seek to introduce better immigration controls, while maintaining a measured tone.

Labour will seek better border control and look to tackle exploitation of migrants by firms in Britain which undercut local wages, she said. In a newspaper article, she said: "Ukip is preying on people's fears. We won't imitate it, we'll take it on -especially when it promotes hostility, division and isolation."