LONDON CITY

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David Cameron will today challenge Gordon Brown over immigration levels
which he believes are too high.

In his first speech on the issue since becoming Tory leader, Mr Cameron
is to warn that projected population increases are on a different
scale to anything in the recent past.

This country faces a choice, he will say, outlining proposals to
reduce immigration, designed as an alternative to Labours open-door
policy.

These will include a border police force, controls on new EU states and
annual quotas on non-EU migrants.

The Tories also plan tighter restrictions on forced marriages between
Britons and foreigners and a requirement that immigrants should have a
basic understanding of English.

Aides said Mr Cameron was not lurching to the Right, but addressing
one of Britains key challenges.

Last week Britains population was projected to reach at least 71
million, 10 million more than today, within 25 years.

Officials said immigration will be much higher than the Government has
previously admitted

Immigrants and their children will make up seven out of ten of the extra
population.

Mr Cameron is to claim that reducing the level of net immigration
appears beyond the Government.

He will accuse Mr Brown of using immigration to plug a worker shortage
as the Premier refuses to address educational failure, Britons on
long-term benefits or family breakdown.

Mr Browns pledges to improve the NHS, schools and to build more house
are simply overwhelmed by his failure to deal with the demographic
challenge, Mr Cameron will say.

Britains population is set to grow rapidly. That growth will come from
a combination of higher life expectancy and higher net immigration.

At the same time we are seeing another significant demographic change -
the growth in household formation, as more people choose to live alone,
in part because of the rise in family breakdown.

These trends will put pressure on our national infrastructure.

Mr Cameron will accept that in any advanced economy, there will be high
levels of emigration and immigration.

But he will add: What matters is the net figure, which I believe is
currently too high.

So we need policy to reduce the level of net immigration - and we also
need policy to reduce the pressure of household formation.

Some people argue that the demographic changes Ive talked about are
just an inevitable part of the modern world.

He adds: This assumes that we cant do much about family failure, we
cant get significant numbers of people off benefits and into work, and
that we use immigration to deal with our capacity shortages.

That is Gordon Browns choice. But I dont think its sustainable.

Mr Cameron will claim only the Conservatives will offer an alternative -
a strategy to reduce family breakdown, tackle educational failure and
reduce the level of immigration.

Ironically, it seems Mr Browns attempt to march on to Tory territory by
promising last month to reserve British jobs for British workers, has
given Mr Cameron fresh licence to talk about the issue.

The pledge was last week declared illegal by researchers from the
Commons library.

Yesterday, in an interview with Sky News, Mr Cameron accused Mr Brown of
doing things which look deeply phoney.

If you, all your life, campaign against everything Margaret Thatcher
has done, you look a bit silly when you pose with her.

He indicated that he will oppose an attempt by Mr Brown to extend police
powers to detain terror suspects without charge beyond 28 days.

Mr Cameron has defended a joking reference he made about one-legged
Lithuanians last week.

He reportedly told the Arts Council lunch at the Tate Britain: I hope
you wont be giving grants to too many one-legged Lithuanian lesbians.

Labour accused him of crass insensitivity. Tory officials said it was
a comment on the way lottery money should be handed out, and that he had
referred to one-legged Lithuanian dance troupes and not one-legged
Lithuanian lesbians.