Cabinet has warned Blair to prevent new EU citizens from moving freely from Poland

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The United Kingdom’s senior cabinet members In 2004, Prime Minister Tony Blair warned that free movement from new EU member states, including Poland, could put a huge strain on the benefits system and housing, according to newly released documents.

Immigrants from most of the ten Eastern and Central European countries, including Hungary and the Czech Republic, were allowed to work in the UK with few restrictions, leading to a sharp increase in immigration.

In the year In 2005, a year after the decision, EU migration to the UK reached 96,000, according to the Office for National Statistics, a sharp increase from 15,000 in 2003.

In the year During the Brexit referendum in 2016, this increase helped. Persecution A highly controversial political issue.

Documents released by the Cabinet Office show that the then Secretary of State Jack Straw and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott raised concerns before the decision.

In a letter dated 10 February 2004, Straw warned Blair: “If we get this wrong, we could be in a very difficult situation.”

He asked the Prime Minister to consider delaying the introduction of the policy, stating that this would allow Britain to “track” migrants moving to other countries.

While the United Kingdom, Ireland and Sweden allowed immediate free movement with minimal restrictions in May 2004, many others, including France and Germany, chose to delay full access to their labor markets, citing the threat of mass migration. Countries had the ability to impose restrictions until May 1, 2011.

The UK’s decision is based in part on the Home Office’s assessment that only 5,000-13,000 migrants will come from the new EU member states. However, this proved to be a very low estimate.

Annual net migration from EU member states reached 142,000 in 2014, according to ONS estimates, fueling debate over Britain’s EU membership.

In the year On February 16, 2004, Prescott formally wrote to Blair asking for a delay. As Deputy Prime Minister he cited a housing crisis, with migrants expected to flock to London and the south-east in search of work, “the likely result” being “overcrowded accommodation in poor areas” as they could not afford the rent.

“As things turned out, we were wrong,” Straw told the Financial Times.

He added: “I am clear that if we had good evidence of the effect of lifting the restrictions on internal immigration into the UK, we would never agree to lift them.”

“If they kept the limits, it would have made some difference in hindsight. . . The result of the 2016 referendum; “It’s impossible to say whether it’s enough to sway him,” he said.

According to previously unseen documents released by the National Archives, Blair asked the authorities whether the first “work permit” plan was implemented, considering the concerns. However, he finally decided against such a policy.

Blair’s briefing paper, released on July 2, shows that 9,000 workers will sign up to work in the UK in the two months after May 1, with 50,000-60,000 workers likely to arrive in the first year.

The authorities warned against the “elephant trap” of the media reporting the figure.

To counter accusations that immigrants would increase benefits, Blair told officials to “get into our media” reports that police would rather work illegally in Germany than legally in England.

He asked advisers to make sure he made the “heaviest package of benefits possible” to prevent excessive claims from new EU migrants.

Blair declined to comment.