Shropshire MP Owen Paterson backs leaked plans on immigration

A leaked draft of Home Office plans suggested British workers would get a preference over those from EU countries in the jobs market.

The document is entitled 'Border, Immigration and Citizenship System after the UK leaves the EU' and is marked extremely sensitive.

The ideas in the document include a cap on the number of unskilled workers from the EU and preventing EU migrants from job-seeking in the UK.

Some MPs have criticised the plans, and Business Group London First said the moves would be "economic self harm".

However Mr Paterson defended the plans as MPs returned to parliament after their summer break, saying immigration at its current rate is unsustainable.

He said: "I don't think it is economic self harm I think it is sensible with good ideas.

"If immigration remains at the current level then we will have to build a new house every two minutes, and that is just unsustainable.

"There needs to be targeted immigration. When I was minister for DEFRA where workers would come over for a season, pick strawberries for example, have access to good facilities and then go home.

"We have 4.4 per cent of the population not in jobs which is one of the lowest in the EU, but that it still a lot of people.

"I think this plan makes perfect sense."

Other ideas in the plan include introducing a salary and skills threshold, ending the right to settle in Britain for most European migrants and placing new restrictions on their rights to bring in family members.

As part of the plans, low-skilled migrants would be offered residency for a maximum of two years, while people in 'high skilled occupations' would be granted permits to work for up to five years.

EU citizens coming to the UK as tourists to visit or on business would be able to enter the UK without needing permission.

Nationals from the EU already living and working in the UK would not be affected. They will be given the right to apply for 'settled status' after five years of being residents.

Mr Paterson denied claims the Conservative party were anti-immigration.

He added: "Eastern European countries such as Poland and Romania have seen their economy picking up, which means workers wages have now risen.

"We still have open borders but this would bring a managed system.

"We are not anti-immigration, but we want to manage immigration.

"It will mean taking back control of the borders and that is what people voted for in the EU referendum."