Ministers ‘watering down’ EU migrant plan

MINISTERS are drawing up plans for a post-brexit immigration policy that would result in just 40,000 fewer EU migrants coming to the UK annually, a leaked impact assessment suggests.

The Daily Telegraph can disclose the economic analysis, drawn up with the support of Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, suggests that EU workers will be given “preferential treatment” if Britain secures a free-trade deal.

Under a “flexible migration” scenario, described as a “midway point between strict policy and continued labour mobility”, they would have to earn £20,500 to gain entry. More than 230,000 EU migrants currently come to the UK every year.

The analysis suggests that migration controls will be far tougher if Britain leaves the EU without a deal, leading to 90,000 fewer EU workers a year.

It states that in the absence of a deal, migrants would be required to have degrees, a job offer and earn at least £30,000, bringing them into line with visa requirements for non-eu workers. The analysis suggests the Government could significantly water down plans disclosed in a leaked Home Office report last year, which included a cap on low-skilled migrants and a ban on bringing extended family members into the UK.

The document states: “The Treasury believes a relevant factor to be considered when appraising the economic impact of various end states is the interaction with migratory flows. There

are a number of possible policy scenarios on which the Home Secretary has been consulted.”

The Government has repeatedly attempted to play down the report, saying that it does not model the “bespoke deal” that the Prime Minister wants.

The report has been heavily criticised by Eurosceptics including Steve Baker, the Brexit minister. It suggests Britain will have to borrow around £80billion extra a year by 2033-34 if it enters into a free-trade agreement with the EU, and around £120 billion if it leaves without a deal. It claims that under the no-deal scenario the cost of lower migration would be £10billion.

Priti Patel, the former Tory Cabinet minister, said: “The most important thing about any modelling is that we want to ensure we do what we promised the British public – we take back control of our immigration policy.”

A government spokesman said it was a “misrepresentation of a document which we have already said does not represent Government policy”.