British deputy prime minister Nick Clegg dismissed suggestions today that Britain was planning to “pull up the drawbridge” on any exodus of workers from crisis-hit euro zone nations.
His intervention came after home secretary Theresa May disclosed that contingency planning was under way to deal with a potential influx of would-be immigrants.
There are fears that Greece in particular could leave the euro and go bankrupt, causing millions of people to lose their jobs and possibly look for work abroad.
But Mr Clegg said she had only been talking about “keeping an eye on migration patterns”.
“I really do think some of the breathless talk in the media about do we pull up the drawbridge to stop hordes of people migrating across Europe is both far-fetched, somewhat apocalyptic in tone and deeply unhelpful,” he told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show.
“We are not there yet.” The deputy prime minister said he hoped Greece would remain a member of the euro.
Ms May had said “quite sensibly that these are things that the home office keeps under review, as it should”, he added.
Ms May said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph yesterday that “work is ongoing” to deal with large movements of people in the event of the break-up of the single currency.
She did not indicate the sort of response that was under consideration.
In normal circumstances the government’s hands are tied because EU nationals are largely entitled to live and work anywhere in the single market.
But she said the government was “looking at the trends” on immigration from struggling European economies.
She said there was no evidence of increased migration at present, she added that it was “difficult to say how it is going to develop in coming weeks”.
Asked whether emergency immigration controls are under consideration, Ms May said: “It is right that we do some contingency planning on this (and) that is work that is ongoing.”
Prime minister David Cameron cast doubt on the future of the euro last week when he warned the euro zone that it “either has to make up or it is looking at a potential break-up”.
“That’s the choice they have to make and it is a choice they can’t long put off,” he told the Commons.
Ms May suggested that the “abuse” of freedom of movement within the EU more generally was an issue that was under consideration.
“Discussions within the EU are much more looking at the immigration issue, the migration issue, as something that needs to be considered and addressed,” she told The Telegraph.
“Within the EU, in a wider context, people are increasingly recognising the need to prevent the abuse of free movement.”
Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said moves to curb immigration from within the EU were “fraught with dangers”.
“Firstly, the Government has always maintained that they could never do anything about EU migration as it was illegal to do so. The statement (yesterday) is concerning, considering that the home office’s record of acting on legal advice has not been brilliant.
“Secondly, the home secretary is suggesting a short-term fix, whereas the euro zone crisis will be long term and involve several countries.
“Finally, she will cause unnecessary panic as people in Greece seek to move to the UK before any new measures are put in place. This risks causing chaos at the borders just before and during the Olympics.
“The home secretary should choose her words and the methods of announcing changes much more carefully in future.”
PA