Blair admits he had no idea how many people would come to Britain when he allowed mass EU immigration as his 'institute' to thwart Brexit starts work 

  • Tony Blair returned to the airwaves today to launch his new policy institute 
  • But the ex-PM was dogged by questions about his record in Government 
  • Blair said he did not know how many people would migrate to Britain after 2004
  • He wrongly said the surge was not immediate despite figures showing otherwise

Tony Blair has admitted he had no idea how many people would move to Britain when the EU expanded in 2004.

And the ex-Prime Minister appeared to get wrong the facts of what happened to immigration numbers in a major interview to launch his new policy institute.

He said the surge in immigration to Britain did not happen until after 2008 and that Britain could only have imposed controls for four years.

In fact, net immigration leapt in 2004 and other EU nations imposed transitional controls for up to seven years. 

Mr Blair's Labour government agreed to the EU expansion and was one of only a handful of European government not to impose any transitional controls on free movement from the new members.

Tony Blair has admitted he had no idea how many people would move to Britain when the EU expanded in 2004

The ex-Prime Minister appeared to get wrong the facts of what happened to immigration numbers in a major interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr to launch his new policy institute.

Mr Blair's interviewed was dominated by questions over his controversial record in Government a decade after he left office.

Asked if he knew how many people would move to Britain, Mr Blair told the BBC's Andrew Marr: 'No, we didn't know the numbers.'

Mr Blair said the 2004 expansion of the EU with 10 new countries including Poland, Lithuania and Hungary, had been a good thing for Britain's security and economy.

He said: 'There was was freedom of movement of people immediately.

'We could have delayed for four years their ability to come here and work. We didn't, it's true, the economy was in a completely different position in 2004.

'But I point out the majority of EU immigration came post 2008.

'One of the tragedies of Brexit is we are now in a situation where we think this enlargement of the European Union... was some sort of error.

'It was actually a bipartisan policy of both governments that has done great benefits to this country overall.' 

Official data on net immigration shows a huge increase from 2003 to 2004, as the number of arrivals from EU countries increased from 15,000 to 87,000 

Official data on net immigration shows a huge increase from 2003 to 2004, as the number of arrivals from EU countries increased from 15,000 to 87,000 

Transitional controls on free movement in most parts of Europe continued for seven years until May 2011.

Official data on net immigration shows a huge increase from 2003 to 2004.

In 2003, some 15,000 EU migrants moved to Britain but in 2004 the figure was 87,000. In 2005 it was 96,000, in 2006 104,000  and in 2007 127,000.

Immigration from Europe fell away to 63,000.

The number of people arriving in Britain from outside the EU was higher in every year.

Mr Blair has launched his new institute to create ideas for centre ground politicians but it has been seen as a vehicle to try and find ways to halt Brexit.

He said the Government faced negotiations of 'unparalleled complexity' if it was to achieve its stated aim of delivering an agreement that replicates as closely as possible Britain's existing trade arrangements with the EU.

Mr Blair has launched his new institute to create ideas for centre ground politicians but it has been seen as a vehicle to try and find ways to halt Brexit.

Mr Blair has launched his new institute to create ideas for centre ground politicians but it has been seen as a vehicle to try and find ways to halt Brexit.

While voters had backed Brexit in last year's referendum, he said he believed it was 'possible' the public mood would change if it did not result in the promised benefits, and Labour should be ready to capitalise on that.

'A few weeks ago in the House of Commons (Brexit Secretary) David Davis said they were going to deliver a deal with exactly the same benefits we now have from the single market and the customs union. We should hold them to that,' he told BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show.

'If they are going to try and deliver exactly the same benefits as we have now in the single market and customs union, this is an endeavour of unparalleled complexity.

'When the only thing people can point to is, you are going to control a section of this EU immigration as the reason why we want to do this, I think it is possible - I don't put it higher than that - that people start to think, is this really the thing that is going to be important.

'What the Labour Party should say is, 'We believed in Remain, we still think the best thing is for Britain to be part of the European Union, we acknowledge the people voted against that, we acknowledge therefore the Government have a mandate to negotiate Brexit, but we are going to hold them to the test that they have set, and if they do not pass that test then we are going to retain the right to represent the people of this country should their will change, to offer them the option of staying'.'

 

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