Michael Gove accused of 'desperate' and 'hypocritical' scaremongering over migration in EU debate

Critics said Mr Gove's numbers did not add up

Michael Gove has been accused of “desperate” and “hypocritical” scaremongering after he claimed five million more migrants could come to Britain if the public votes to stay in the European Union.

In an attempt by Leave campaigners to push immigration to the heart of the referendum campaign the Justice Secretary warned that a migrant influx - equivalent to the population of Scotland - would put "unsustainable" pressure on the NHS by 2030.

But critics pointed out that for Mr Gove’s figures to become a reality Turkey, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, would all have join the EU by 2020, and the UK would not impose transitional immigration controls on them. Turkey has been in accession talks with the EU since 1987.

Mr Gove’s claim also appears to be at odds with his position just a year ago when he argued - in just eight words - that further immigration was a good thing for the NHS.

“Is Britain full? No, it is not full,” the Justice Secretary told Question Time in April last year.

“It is a good thing when talented people who want a better life and who can contribute to this country come here. In our public services, in our NHS, the nurses and doctors who care for us in many cases come from outside the United Kingdom.”

He added that the debate on immigration had been “poisoned by those who say that we should pull up the barriers”.

But yesterday he said: “The reality is that voting to Remain and continuing with a policy of free movement and enlargement will continue putting huge additional pressure on the NHS.

“There is only one way the public can take back control and that is to vote Leave.

“We can ensure that we give the NHS the additional support and investment that the public believe in and future generations deserve.”

The Cabinet Minister said that between 172,000 - 428,000 migrants a year would be arriving in the UK until 2030, meaning A&E attendances would spiral by between 6.3 million - 12.8 million annually, increasing emergency NHS demand by between 28 per cent – 57 per cent.

But one commentator pointed out that this would require the new immigrants to use the NHS at four times the rate of existing British users despite the fact the majority of migrants tend to be younger.

Others questioned the inclusion of Turkey among those countries likely to accede to the EU within the next ten years.

Mr Gove said that the European Commission was “in the process of speeding-up the accession process”.

“It is already setting up the visa free travel programme with Turkey. That will create a zone of free movement from our borders to the borders of Syria and Iraq," Mr Gove said.

But two months ago Mr Gove’s fellow leave campaigner Boris Johnson said Turkish accession was “not going to happen in the foreseeable future”.

“If it were to happen what you wouldn’t get is anything to do with free movement,” he said.

At the start of the referendum campaign Vote Leave said it did not want immigration to be a significant part of its message arguing that those voters who were concerned about immigration were likely to vote leave anyway, while such campaigning could put off swing voters.

Mr Gove’s intervention suggests that the campaign is rethinking this strategy following a difficult few weeks in which it has struggled to make it more optimistic message for Brexit heard.

The Remain Campaign described the immigration warning as “desperate” and said it was also “hypocritical” given what leading Brexit campaigners had said in the past.

“These figures are nonsense because accession of these countries is not remotely on the cards,” said Neil Kinnock, former leader of the Labour Party, adding “Michael Gove’s hypocrisy is staggering.”

Meanwhile the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker intervened in the Brexit vote warning that Britain would face a rough ride with other EU countries if it voted to leave.

“Deserters will not be welcomed with open arms,” he said.

Asked by French newspaper Le Monde how Brussels would respond to a Leave vote, Mr Juncker said: “If the British say no - which I hope they will not - community life will not carry on as before. The United Kingdom will have to accept being considered as a third party, which does not have its hair stroked in the right direction.”