Lib Dems: Reid's immigration system unworkable

Tuesday, 24, Oct 2006 12:00

The restrictions on the rights of Bulgarian and Romanian workers when the countries join the EU next January are too complicated, the Liberal Democrats have argued.

Home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said the scheme was "asking a lot in terms of enforcement from an immigration and nationality directorate which Mr Reid has branded unfit for purpose".

It was right to introduce "some transitional arrangements" after high levels of immigration from Poland and other EU accession countries, he said, but added: "There are real concerns about how this will work in practice."

Discriminating against low skilled migrants could create a black market, he warned, saying there was also a risk that there would be "little incentive" for Bulgarians and Romanians to stick to the scheme.

The government should have done much more to persuade southern Europe to "take their fair share of workers before deciding on this stop-gap system that is unlikely to prove workable", he argued.