On Brexit: Leaked Government Draft Document Raises Concerns

Accra, Sept. 06 - (DPA/GNA) - A British business group expressed alarm on Wednesday at a leaked draft of a government document which suggested tough post-Brexit curbs on immigration from the European Union.

The Home Office draft, obtained by The Guardian, advocates limiting EU citizens without specialist skills to a maximum of two years working in Britain and suggests passport checks on all EU citizens entering the country.

It also suggests restricting residency of relatives of EU citizens to partners, children under 18 and adult dependents, saying most "extended family members" would no longer qualify as family members under a planned new British immigration law.

"Food and drink manufacturing, Britain's largest manufacturing sector, will be alarmed by the proposals contained in the document published by The Guardian," said Ian Wright, head of Britain's Food and Drink Federation.

"If this does represent the government's thinking it shows a deep lack of understanding of the vital contribution that EU migrant workers make - at all skill levels - across the food chain," Wright said.

The draft is "a blueprint on how to strangle our economy" and is "wrong for London and for Britain," London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Twitter.

Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said the proposals would "create an underground economy, encouraging bad bosses to exploit migrants and undercut decent employers offering good jobs."

Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative government has not yet commented on the draft and its status remains unclear.