Despite deleting a tweet, the immigration minister has refused to apologise for his remarks.

Tory minister Kevin Foster has refused to apologise for suggesting that Ukrainian refugees come to the UK to pick fruit.

After the government’s disappointing response, Labour MP Luke Pollard had raised concerns about UK visa restrictions on refugees from Ukraine, saying he was “looking for a route for people fleeing Ukraine who might not have a family link in the UK”.

He said: “We have a moral obligation to help them. Will you now change policy to do exactly that?”

In the now-deleted tweet, Foster replied: “As you will be well aware there are a number of routes, not least our seasonal worker scheme you will recall from your Shadow Defra days, which Ukrainians can qualify for, alongside the family route for those with relatives here.”

Foster faced a backlash online following his comments.

Jim Pickard tweeted: “Here is the UK immigration minister telling Ukrainians fleeing a war zone that they can apply to pick seasonal fruit and veg.”

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper tweeted in response to Foster’s initial comment: “My God. People are fleeing war in Europe, the like we haven’t seen in generations, in search of swift sanctuary.

“Yet the immigration minister says the answer is they should put in an application to pick Britain’s fruit & veg.”

Despite deleting the tweet, the immigration minister has refused to apologise for his remarks.

Appearing before Home Office questions in the Commons, shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock called on Foster to say sorry.

Kinnock criticised Foster’s initial tweet as “the modern-day equivalent of let them eat cake” and asked for him to “unconditionally apologise” – but the minister didn’t even respond to the point.

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