Germany ‘had a veto’ over PM’s referendum deal
IDS sparks row over failed UK bid to cut migration
IAIN Duncan Smith was last night embroiled in a ferocious row with the Germans after claiming that Angela Merkel had been given ‘ultimate power’ over Britain’s referendum negotiations.
The former work and pensions secretary insisted he knew for a fact that David Cameron had been planning to demand an emergency brake on immigration in late 2014.
But at the ‘midnight hour’, just before his wish-list was made public in a speech, the proposal was pulled.
His claim was dismissed by a senior German politician who said the Leave campaigner was ‘lying to his people’.
Mr Duncan Smith, who was in the Cabinet at the time, said Chancellor Merkel had a ‘de facto veto’ over everything and the brake had been removed to pacify her.
He said: ‘‘I know that right up until the midnight hour, there was a strong line in there about restricting the flow of migrants from the European Union – an emergency brake on overall migration.
‘That was dropped, literally the night before. And it was dropped because the Germans said if that is in the speech, we will have to attack it. It’s like they were sitting in a room, even when they were not there. There was a spare chair for them – called the German chair. They have had a de facto veto over everything.
He told the Sun: ‘There is no question in my mind that keeping the Germans on side was the only thing that really mattered. They had the ultimate power over it.’
His comments revive a row exposed by the Daily Mail 18 months ago.
The story was confirmed at the time by two senior government sources and gave an insight into Mrs Merkel’s influence over the Tories before the negotiations.
But Elmar Brok, a German MEP and one of the senior negotiators during the talks, insisted that a ban on migrant workers had never been on the cards and Mr Duncan Smith was ‘lying to his own people’.
‘This, I think, is just not true’, he told the BBC’s World at One. ‘Britain got what is possible under these circumstances and that was a great success story.
‘It is not easy to sell in countries like Poland and others that Britain got this special right and therefore Duncan Smith is trying to explain to its people that Germany has a direct impact on British policy, that is just wrong. Mr Duncan Smith is lying to his own people.
‘This just a part of a dirty campaign and has nothing to do with reality.’
The UK was granted the right to apply for a seven-year emergency brake under which new migrants will receive the right to claim in-work benefits only gradually, over the course of four years.
Mr Duncan Smith and other proBrexit ministers are adamant it will not curb mass immigration.
The changes Mr Cameron eventually secured will not come into force until mid-2017. Any migrant who arrives before this date will be unaffected. Experts predict this could lead to a short-term spike in the number of incomers.
The 2015 Tory manifesto also said: ‘If an EU migrant’s child is living abroad, then they should receive no child benefit, no matter how long
‘They had the ultimate power’
they have worked in the UK and no matter how much tax they have paid’. But, in another cave-in, child benefit payments will be linked to the cost of living in the child’s homeland. This policy agreement will not be introduced until 2020.
Pro-Brexit ministers say that, with migrants attracted by the new living wage, the changes will make little or no difference.
Last night it was claimed that Mr Cameron has since pleaded with Mrs Merkel to stay out of the referendum campaign. No 10 is said to fear any intervention on her behalf in favour of remain could backfire and push people toward Brexit.
Meanwhile, the Council of Europe has warned that doctors, teachers, social workers and landlords should not report illegal immigrants to the Home Office because it would breach their human rights.
Its guidelines said ‘ firewalls’ should be created to prevent them sharing with the immigration authorities details about failed asylum seekers or those who have sneaked in unlawfully.
If adopted, the recommendations would make it much more difficult for immigration enforcement teams to track down and remove illegals.
Analysts believe more than a million foreigners are here unlawfully. Measures introduced by the Government mean anyone accessing education, hospitals, social services, housing or work must have their immigration status checked.
Landlords who fail to check whether they are renting to illegal immigrants could face five years in jail and firms who employ illegals can be fined up to £2,000 a person.
But the anti-discrimination panel of the Council of Europe, the 47- nation parent body of the European Court of Human Rights, said yesterday that this would violate human rights laws.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘The Home Office would not accept or support any recommendation which would bar public officials or private service providers from reporting suspected illegal immigrants.
‘There are specific arrangements in place for the Home Office to be notified where illegal immigrants seek access to benefits or local authority social services.’