British home secretary Priti Patel's move to scrap EU free movement rules have been abandoned amid fears that the government will be sued, it was reported on Sunday (1).
The proposal to ditch the rules has been put on hold after lawyers hired by the Home Officer said it could cause chaos, reported the Sunday Times.
A Whitehall source told the newspaper: "The legal advice was that this would not be an appropriate use of the powers and there would have to be an affirmative vote in both houses of parliament for it to happen."
Last month, Patel said tough border controls will be imposed on EU citizens on day one of a no-deal Brexit.
This move has been slammed by the Liberal Democrats, who accused Patel of being “completely detached from reality”.
“It is completely detached from reality and is next chapter in the never-ending saga of the utter mess they are making of Brexit," Ed Davey, the Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson, was quoted as saying.
“What would this mean for EU citizens who have made their home in the UK who have travelled abroad when they try to return?
“Are the government seriously suggesting an NHS nurse who is an EU national may not be allowed to return to the country if they happen to have been on holiday? It is absurd.”
Patel's move is a shift from the position of her predecessor, Sajid Javid, who had said a day-one end to free movement was not “practical.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Freedom of movement as it currently stands will end on October 31 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."
