David Cameron admits migration target may not be met

[Haia]

PM suggests he could be powerless to deliver on promise to reduce net migration because of recent surge in numbers entering UK from inside EU

On a visit to China, David Cameron pleaded for more time before he was judged on the target, which has not been adopted by the Liberal Democrats Photo: REUTERS








10:11PM GMT 02 Dec 2013


David Cameron has suggested he could be powerless to deliver on his promise to reduce net migration because of a recent surge in the number of people entering the UK from inside the European Union.

The Prime Minister has previously said that he would bring down net migration to fewer than 100,000 people a year by 2015. But the latest official figures showed that net migration increased by 15,000 to 182,000 in the year to June.

On a visit to China, Mr Cameron pleaded for more time before he was judged on the target, which has not been adopted by the Liberal Democrats. He said the Government needed to make “further progress”. But he suggested that the Lib Dems’ lack of agreement on the issue, twinned with his inability to halt free movement between EU countries, meant he may fail to meet the goal.

He said that he made the pledge before the last election when there was balanced migration between Britain and other EU countries.

However, the near collapse of some southern European economies has led to an unexpected increase in migration to Britain from elsewhere in the EU