Proposal for UK firms to pay a £1,000-a-year fee per EU skilled worker is dropped by the Government

Within hours of the immigration minister floating the levy idea - and after fierce criticism - Downing Street insists it will not happen

The Prime Minister's spokeswoman quickly dismissed the levy proposal as 'not on the agenda' (Getty)

A proposal to charge firms a £1,000-a-year fee to bring in an EU skilled worker after Brexit was quickly dropped by the Government following an angry backlash.

Employers’ groups and pro-EU politicians spoke out against the idea after it was floated by the immigration minister, one branding it “idiotic”.

The “immigration skills levy” – already being introduced for staff from the rest of the world – could be extended to the EU, Robert Goodwill said.

But, within hours, faced with the fierce criticism, Downing Street insisted the levy would not be brought in.

Theresa May’s spokeswoman said: “He seems to have been misinterpreted and his comments taken out of context.

“What he said was there are a number of things that some people may suggest could be the way forward.

“At no point did he say it’s on the agenda. And it is not on the Government’s agenda,” she told a regular Westminster briefing.

Earlier, Seamus Nevin, of the Institute of Directors, said: “Charging £1,000 for each EU worker would hit businesses who are dependent on skills from abroad.

“The UK needs these companies to do well if we are to make a success of Brexit. We urge the Government to reconsider this proposal.”

And Ufi Ibrahim, of the British Hospitality Association, described the proposal as “very worrying for the hospitality and tourism industry.

“The minister’s suggestion would increase the costs for hospitality and tourism businesses and would lead to higher prices for consumers,” he added.

Prominent Conservative backbencher Anna Soubry said: “This would be a tax on successful businesses.”

And Don Foster, for the Liberal Democrats, said: “This is the most idiotic thing to come out of a Minister’s mouth since ‘red white and blue Brexit’.”

The criticism came after Mr Goodwill said the Brexit result showed voters believed that companies are relying too much on migrants from outside Britain.

They had made clear that not enough was being done to ensure that “the skills are available from our own people”, he told a House of Lords inquiry.

Mr Goodwill said an apprenticeship levy, later this year, would help the Government meet its commitment to train more than three million more apprentices by 2020.

And he added: “In April this year, we are also bringing in the immigration skills charge for non-EEA skilled workers.

“If you want to recruit an Indian computer programmer on a four-year contract, on top of the existing visa charges and the resident labour market test, there will be a fee of £1,000 per year.

“So, for a four-year contract that employer will need to pay a £4,000 immigration skills charge.

“That is something that currently applies to non-EU and it has been suggested to us that could be applied to EU.”

The rethink comes after an earlier Home Office plan – to force businesses to reveal how many foreign staff they employ – was also abandoned quickly, following widespread condemnation.