It’s a myth that we opened UK to migrants, insists Blair

TONY Blair claimed yesterday that it was a ‘myth’ that he deliberately opened Britain’s borders to mass migration.

The former prime minister dismissed the suggestion that his government had a policy of throwing open the doors, which resulted in 2.5million migrants arriving in the country.

He even claimed Labour put ‘ huge controls’ on migration from non-EU countries and insisted he had ‘never ignored’ it as a political issue.

His comments contrast with claims by former Labour figures including Lord Mandelson, who said that the Labour government was ‘not only welcoming people to come to this country to work, we were sending out search parties’.

Former Labour adviser Andrew Neather caused uproar when he revealed in 2009 how mass migration was a deliberate policy with a ‘driving political purpose’ – to make the UK ‘truly multicultural’. He wrote: ‘The policy was intended to rub the Right’s nose in diversity and render their arguments out of date.’ Mr Blair’s denial came in a BBC interview yesterday as he was challenged on his government’s approach to migration.

Radio 4’s Today presenter John Humphrys pointed to Mr Neather’s claims and asked whether Labour’s policy was ‘allowing effectively unbridled, uncontrolled immigration into this country’. He said: ‘Two and a half million extra workers came to this country and it was your intention to do this?’

Mr Blair replied: ‘No absolutely not – this is a huge myth, by the way.’

He added: ‘There wasn’t a deliberate plan... It’s true we were in favour of freedom of movement within the European Union, though if I was back in office today I would be arguing we apply those rules much more toughly.’

In 2004 Labour opened the doors to migrants from former Soviet bloc countries joining the EU.

The Home Office discarded the option of transitional controls on workers, which were imposed by almost every other EU country, including Germany.

Last night Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘Tony Blair was notorious for spinning, now he is trying to rewrite history. He is the author of his own downfall. Uncontrolled