EU referendum: Britain Stronger in Europe and Vote Leave spar over claims that freedom of movement puts British families in danger
Pro-EU campaigners have slammed the eurosceptic Vote Leave campaign, after the pro-Brexit group claimed the European Union’s freedom of movement policies “put British families in danger”.
In a new report out today, Vote Leave says that EU law does not require other EU countries to inform the UK on a systematic basis of the criminal records of their nationals, and points to 45 convicted criminals from other EU countries who re-offended in the UK.
“Free movement of people has created free movement of criminals making the UK less safe and less secure,” said Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliott.
But Britain Stronger in Europe rejected Vote Leave’s claims, saying the argument “makes no sense”.
“The truth is that the UK already has the best of both worlds, we maintain all the benefits of EU membership whilst opting out of the passport-free Schengen area and maintaining our border at Calais rather than at Dover,” said Tory MP Damian Green, who backs the UK remaining in the EU. “We are able to stop suspects from travelling to the UK and since 2010 we have refused entry to almost 6,000 EEA nationals.”