Immigration warning if Turkey gains entry to EU

AN EXTRA 100,000 people will come to the UK every year from Turkey because David Cameron is “supporting” the country’s membership of the EU, a Conservative Cabinet member has said.

Priti Patel, the Eurosceptic employment minister, has backed a report by MigrationWatch, a think tank, which says that UK net migration could rise to 420,000 a year if Turkey joins the EU.

It would mean that the size of the UK population would rise to 76 million by 2035.

Her comments will dismay Downing Street and came just hours after Mr Cameron used a television interview to say that there is no chance of Turkey joining the EU before “the year 3000”.

Ms Patel said: “Turkish membership would mean an additional 100,000 people coming to the UK every year – enough, on its own, to break David Cameron’s manifesto pledge to reduce migration to the tens of thousands.”

It comes after it was claimed yesterday that the EU has a “task force” in place dedicated to ensuring that new regulations that would be unpopular in the UK are postponed until after the referendum.

The allegation, put forward by the BBC, will infuriate Eurosceptics and intensify claims that Brussels is simply holding back controversial new laws until after Britain goes to the polls on June 23.

Gordon Brown, the former Labour prime minister, today begins an attempt to try to turn around the

flagging Remain campaign after warnings that many Labour voters will back a Brexit.

In a report released today, analysis by MigrationWatch states that unless Britain leaves the EU the country can expect to see annual migration of more than 250,000 for the next 20 years.

It estimates this would be the equivalent of Britain adding a city the size of Southampton every year.

MigrationWatch, which campaigns for tougher border controls, has analysed projections for net migration using two scenarios – a low migration scenario and a high migration scenario. The think tank then took an average of the two scenarios, estimating that net foreign migration will reach 315,000 a year by 2036, of which 60 per cent will come from EU citizens.

It would mean that total net migration would be around 265,000 by 2035. However, neither of those scenarios take into account the possibility of Turkey joining the EU. If that were to happen, the think tank predicts that 100,000 extra migrants would come to the UK every year by 2031.

Ms Patel said: “Turkish accession to the EU is being accelerated – with David Cameron’s clear support.”

It comes after a row over leaked tel- egrams which suggested that UK diplomats are considering the idea of allowing up to 1.5 million Turkish citizens visa-free travel to the UK.

A Sunday newspaper published the documents from the British Embassy in Ankara which it said raised the prospect of a deal giving easier access to the Schengen Area being extended to this country.

Theresa May, the Home Secretary, and Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, said “selectively leaked quotes” had been used “to give a completely false impression that the UK is considering granting visa liberalisation to some Turkish citizens”.