Free movement of EU nationals to UK will end in March 2019

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s office yesterday said that free movement to Britain from European Union countries will end when the UK leaves the bloc in March 2019, but it’s uncertain what migration arrangements will look like after that.

Spokesman James Slack said yesterday that “other elements of the post-Brexit immigration system will be brought forward in due course.”

May’s government is divided over Brexit, and ministers have been sending mixed signals.

Last week, Treasury chief Philip Hammond said Britain would abide by some EU rules for up to three years post-2019, suggesting some form of continued free movement to help businesses avoid a “cliff edge.” But Trade Secretary Liam Fox said the cabinet had not agreed a position on immigration policy after Brexit.

Despite these apparent contradictions by government ministers, May’s spokesman insisted there is “broad agreement” in the government to make Brexit as smooth as possible. Slack said it would be wrong to speculate on what the proposals for a new post-Brexit immigration system might look like “or to suggest that free movement will continue as it is now.”

With May away on a threeweek holiday, tensions have heightened among the Conservatives.

Divisions burst into the open after Chancellor Philip Hammond and Home Secretary Amber Rudd said they backed transitional arrangements after the UK leaves the bloc, suggesting EU migration could continue.

Last week Hammond said that there should be no immediate change to immigration rules when Britain leaves the bloc, adding that there would be a registration system in place for people coming to work in the UK during the transitional period. But Liam Fox later said that any such move would “not keep faith” with the referendum result. He said the cabinet had not agreed a stance on immigration.

A spokesman for Boris Johnson was forced to dismiss a suggestion that the foreign secretary was considering quitting the government in protest at the way Brexit was being handled, Sky News reported yesterday.

The prime minister’s spokesman said Mr Johnson was “doing an excellent job.” Details of a post-Brexit implementation period were a matter for negotiations, he added, but Britain was not seeking an “off-the-shelf” solution.

According to the Financial Times, Hammond told business leaders that he hoped for an “offthe-shelf” transition deal with Brussels to maintain current trade relations with Europe for at least two years after Brexit.

Number 10’s comments came as cabinet ministers Jeremy Hunt and Sir Michael Fallon sought to play down reports of a cabinet split.

Mr Fallon, who was taking part in Passchendaele memorial events in Ypres, Belgium, said the issue of immigration policy during a transitional deal would be “one of the details” for the Brexit negotiations.

He told Sky News: “All of us – whichever way we voted back in the referendum – are determined to make a success of us leaving the European Union,” adding that “you mustn’t believe everything you read in the newspapers.”

Mr Hunt, the health secretary, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the cabinet was “completely united.”