UK's Theresa May faces backlash over Brexit immigration plan

PanARMENIAN.Net - British Prime Minister Theresa May threw down the Brexit gauntlet to Brussels on Wednesday, October 5 demanding "maximum freedom" in Europe's single market despite a backlash against her hard line on immigration, AFP reports.

May's speech to the Conservative Party annual conference came as the pound plunged and amid scathing criticism of proposals to make companies publish lists of how many foreign workers they employ.

"I want to give British companies the maximum freedom to trade with and operate within the single market and let European businesses do the same thing here," May said, following an outcry from business leaders who fear new restrictions in the European market.

But she added: "We are not leaving the European Union only to give up control of immigration all over again and we're not leaving only to return to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice".

European leaders have insisted that access to the single market for Britain after it leaves must entail allowing free movement of EU workers.

"Whatever the new relationship, it can never infringe on the four fundamental freedoms," the European Parliament's Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt said, according to AFP.

In a speech in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "Full access to the internal market is coupled with the four freedoms, including the free movement of people.

"Some of you may suffer through Britain not having full access," she said.

May on Sunday said she wanted to invoke Article 50 -- the formal procedure for starting to leave the EU -- by the end of March at the latest.

The pound has since slumped to a new 31-year low against the dollar and a three-year low against the euro on concerns about how Brexit will take effect.

Immigration was the key issue in the June 23 vote for Britain to leave the bloc, a result that sent shockwaves through Europe and the global economy, and sparked political turmoil at home.

May's government this week proposed measures including urging employers to publish a record of how many non-British citizens they take on, and toughening rules on non-EU foreign hires, as well as tightening visa regulations for foreign students.