Home secretary Amber Rudd: This is the end of free movement as we know it
Home secretary Amber Rudd has emphasised that the UK's immigration rules will radically change after Brexit, saying it will be the end "of Freedom of Movement as we know it".
In an interview on Peston on Sunday, Rudd refused to be drawn on the options being looked at, saying it would be a "mistake" to go into detail.
"We will be ending freedom of movement as we know it. Otherwise we're looking at all sorts of alternatives," she said.
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However, she moved to assure businesses worried about a skills shortage after a clampdown that the government will take their views into account.
"We're going to work with businesses, with employers, to make sure the immigration we put in place does help them to continue to thrive and to grow," she said, adding that the government will publish a consultation in the summer.
Rudd's comments came after the Sunday Times reported this morning the government is working on the biggest shake-up of immigration policy in a generation, with migrants holding jobs in key sectors expected to be handed multi-year visas.
According to the report, Theresa May has asked ministers to draw up a plan focusing first on EU nationals who are already in the UK, then on setting up a new visa system for those arriving.
It is likely the government's net migration target of "tens of thousands a year" will stand as the "ultimate goal".
Last week official figures showed net migration dipped to 273,000 in the year to September, with the number of people coming from countries in Eastern Europe falling significantly.
Emigration by nationals from the eight nations which joined the EU in 2004, including Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, tripled – while there was also an increase in people from outside Europe moving out of the UK.
Employers have voiced concerns tighter controls on immigration will lead to a post-Brexit "brain drain".