White boys are failing in schools because of immigration says Labour spokesman Tristram Hunt said that British youngsters must be trained for skilled job Speaking days before Romanians and Bulgarians given right to work in UK Poor school achievement from white boys is linked to immigration from Eastern Europe according to Labour's shadow education secretary. Tristram Hunt, who is a former television historian, said that more must be done to train British youngsters for skilled jobs. He claimed that change was essential as more people from the EU continue to arrive to compete for jobs. Labour's Tristram Hunt says that his party got their immigration forecasts 'badly wrong' Mr Hunt also branded Conservative education secretary Michael Gove a 'zealot' with a ' highly aggressive investment-banker model of school.' Mr Hunt also branded current education secretary Michael Gove a 'zealot' The comments were made in an interview with The Fabian Society which will be published next week. They come days before migrants from Romania and Bulgaria will be granted the unrestricted right to live and work in the UK. And Mr Hunt said that the previous Labour government got their immigration forecasts 'badly wrong'. The Telegraph reported that Mr Hunt said: 'What we can do in the education sphere is to [show] that there is a growing issue of white British boys not getting the education they want.' And when asked if he thought that poor attainment in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and the Kent coast is because of high levels of EU migration there, Mr Hunt said: 'Exactly. And that comes back to the supply side, we have to get in there. He added: 'In 1997 the focus was on standards and expansion of the higher education sector. We all thought the knowledge economy was the answer and that financial services would keep going forever.