Brexit: Government ‘abandons Priti Patel plan to end EU free movement on October 31’

Instead government expected to change rules around ID cards and EU nationals who have spent time in prison, reports say

The government has reportedly scrapped plans to end freedom of movement on 31 October after being told by lawyers that imposing the rule change on EU nationals could scupper no-deal planning and leave ministers at risk of legal action.

The pledge to impose new border controls overnight once Brexit was completed was put forward home secretary Priti Patel last month in the first step towards Boris Johnson’s plan to introduce wholesale reform to immigration policy after Brexit.

The new immigration policy, which is not due to be voted on before Britain leaves the EU, is expected to mirror the Australian ‘points based’ system and prioritise high-skilled, high paid workers over lower earners.

However, the government has reportedly been forced to backtrack on the pledge to kick-start these changes on 31 October. According to The Sunday Times, officials scrapped the proposal after lawyers warned that plans to use loopholes in the EU Withdrawal Act to end freedom of movement without a vote from MPs could see ministers taken to court – with a 70 per cent chance of them losing their case.

Instead, the government is expected to incrementally change the rules to ensure EU citizens are not admitted into the country with ID cards – instead requiring that they hold full passports – and to prevent EU nationals who have been imprisoned for 12 months from entering the UK.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Freedom of movement as it currently stands will end on 31 October when the UK leaves the EU, and after Brexit the Government will introduce a new, fairer immigration system that prioritises skills and what people can contribute to the UK, rather than where they came from.”

The shift in approach follows assertions from experts and politicians that the plan could not work without causing significant disruption. In August the director of the respected Migration Observatory at Oxford University, Madeleine Sumption, told The Independent it would be impossible for the government to introduce wholesale reform to immigration policy on the day after Brexit.

She added: “That’s because any new restrictions on EU migration can’t be enforced unless UK employers know which EU citizens have been here for years and which ones arrived post-Brexit and have to comply with the new immigration regime.

“Realistically, the only way to do this is to implement the EU settlement scheme so that EU citizens have had enough time to apply for status before restrictions are imposed.”