Immigrants who fail to learn English “like a native” risk becoming part of an unemployable “sub-class”, says communities secretary Eric Pickles.

Pickles, who recently published a new strategy on integration, said language skills were vital, and promised £10m to encourage teaching.

“In terms of wanting people, encouraging people, to be part of British society, they can’t do that unless they have more than an understanding of English,” he told The House magazine.

“If we don’t get our resident population with an understanding of English, then they become a sub-class that is virtually unemployable, or are stuck in a ghetto. We should not be turning people out of our schools who aren’t able to speak English like a native.”

Shadow communities secretary Hilary Benn criticised Pickles’s choice of words.”Eric Pickles should be thinking of practical ways to ensure that anyone settling in this country is able to speak English rather than talking about sub-classes and ghettos,” he said.

Eric Jack Pickles (born 20 April 1952) is a British Conservative Party politician. Pickles was appointed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government of the coalition government headed by Prime Minister David Cameron on 12 May 2010.

He was the Chairman of the Conservative Party until being replaced by Baroness Warsi in May 2010 and has been Member of Parliament for Brentwood and Ongar in Essex since 1992. He was Co-Chairman of the Joint Committee Against Racism between 1982 and 1987.