Theresa May ‘must give on migration controls’ to secure post-Brexit trade deals, warns Sir Ivan Rogers

THERESA MAY will have to concede ground on curbs to unlimited EU immigration to seal a bumper Brexit trade deal, a former top diplomat claimed.

Sir Ivan Rogers said the issue of free movement will “inevitably come back into play” when talks with the EU finally get onto the future trading ties.

Sir Ivan Rogers warned the Government was facing a ‘major crunch’ on future customs arrangementsEPA

He added other countries around the world would expect more UK visas for their young talent as part of future trade deals with Brexit Britain.

And speaking to MPs – the UK’s ex-EU ambassador – warned the Government was facing a “major crunch” on future customs arrangements.

He said the Government’s proposals on a new system how to handle goods at the border after Brexit would be turned down as impossible by Brussels.

He added a Norway-style EEA deal would be “implausible” in the long-term as the UK would have to be a rule taker.

Theresa May, on her way to landmark Brexit vote, ‘will have to concede ground on curbs to unlimited EU immigration to seal a bumper trade deal’, says Sir Ivan RogersAlamy Live News

The mandarin resigned in January 2017 with a withering attack on the Government’s “muddled thinking” after a huge row with Brexiteers.

He said he had been proved right on doom-laden warnings that Brexit would take a decade. But he once more insisted he understood Brits concerns over the EU – such as on immigration.

Theresa May prepares for crunch Brexit vote on Tuesday ahead of more EU talksPA:Press Association Anti-Brexit campaigners outside the House of Commons earlier on TuesdayGetty Images - Getty

He said: “This is a revolutionary system change.

“If you take Brexit seriously, and I do, you can’t say you can do all that in a jiffy. I’m not saying it can’t be done or that you can’t extricate yourself.

“But you are going to need a massively-phased programme and meanwhile you’re negotiating with people on other side of the table.

“That’s not obstructive but all of this is going to be bloody difficult to do.”

Michel Barnier once more opened the door to a Norway-style EEA+ deal that would keep Britain in both the Single Market and Customs Union after Brexit.

The EU’s chief negotiator made the remarks to Green MEP Molly Scott Cato at a meeting in Strasbourg.

He has repeatedly stressed the UK can remain in both policies, but only if it accepts free movement, budget payments and being unable to do its own trade deals.

Michel Barnier opened the door to a Norway-style EEA+ deal that would keep Britain in the Single MarketAlamy Live News

At a meeting with EU interns last week, the Frenchman made clear “all of these options are available” and said he was watching the “huge and intense debate in UK politics” closely.

And in a recent speech he added: “If the UK wants to change its own red lines, it should tell us. We are open-minded. There is no ideology or dogmatism on our side.”

However, some Member States are uneasy about the UK upsetting the delicate relationships the bloc has with Single Market member Norway and Customs Union participant Turkey.

And other eurocrats think an agreement in which Britain would have to accept Brussels’ rules without voting on them wouldn’t stand the test of time.

One senior EU official told The Sun: “I can see how this would work for a small country, but it wouldn’t work for a big one.”

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