Tony Blair opened UK borders to east European migrants despite misgivings – newly released files show
Tony Blair’s Labour government pushed on with plans to open the UK’s borders to Eastern Europe despite mounting concerns from senior ministers, according to newly released official files.
The former prime minister relaxed immigration controls in 2004 after eight mainly former Soviet states, including Poland, Lithuania and Hungary, joined the EU.
Papers given to the National Archives in London show then deputy PM John Prescott and foreign secretary Jack Straw both urged delay to the policy, warning of a surge in immigration unless some restrictions were put in place.
But others – including then home secretary David Blunkett – argued that the economy needed the “flexibility and productivity of migrant labour” if it was to continue to prosper.
The records emerged as part of a yearly release of Cabinet Office files once they are 20 years old.
The papers also show:
- Ministers in Blair’s government were advised to use post-it notes for sensitive messages to avoid having to release them under new Freedom of Information laws, which they had passed.
- A senior US official warned the British ambassador to the US that George W Bush believed he was on a “mission from God” to crush Iraqi insurgents and had to be given a “dose of reality”.
- Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi felt like a “jilted lover” after being shut out of talks between Blair and the leaders of France and Germany.
- Former prime minister Sir John Major privately wrote to Blair urging him to order England’s cricket team not to compete in a “morally repugnant” tour in Zimbabwe amid concerns about its human rights record under Robert Mugabe.
Then foreign secretary Jack Straw had reservations about the plan
Calls for open borders re-think
The Blair government’s open borders policy is seen as having helped fuel anti-EU sentiment by the time of the Brexit referendum in 2016.
There was a major increase in immigration in the years that followed, with net migration rising to more than 200,000 a year and cheaper foreign labour blamed for undercutting local workers.
In 2013, Mr Straw admitted that the failure to put in place any transitional controls – as nearly all other EU nations had done – had been a “spectacular mistake” which had far-reaching consequences.
According to the Cabinet papers, the Home Office had predicted the impact of allowing unrestricted access to the UK jobs market for the new countries would be relatively limited – but within weeks the numbers arriving were far outstripping previous estimates.
Three months before the policy was due to be implemented, Mr Straw wrote to Mr Blair calling for a re-think, warning that other countries “who we thought would be joining us have begun to peel away”.
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Sir Tony Blair on leadership
“France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece and Luxembourg are all imposing transition periods of at least two years. Portugal is likely to follow suit,” he wrote.
“Italy is undecided. Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark – who were with us – have all announced the introduction of work and/or residence permits for those wishing to avail themselves of the concession.”
He was backed by Mr Prescott who said he was “extremely concerned” about the pressures on social housing from a sudden influx of new migrants.
However Mr Blunkett, backed by work and pensions secretary Andrew Smith and the Treasury, insisted they should stick with the plan on “economic grounds”.
Then Home Secretary David Blunkett backed the policy
He said that they would be tightening the regulations to stop migrants travelling to the UK simply to claim benefits but rejected calls for a work permit scheme as “not only expensive and bureaucratic but I believe ineffective”.
Mr Blair appeared to also express doubts, questioning whether tougher benefit rules on their own would be enough.
“Are we sure this does the trick? I don’t want to have to return to it,” he said in a handwritten note.
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“I am not sure we shouldn’t have a work permits approach also. Why not? It gives us an extra string to our bow.”
Mr Blair also stressed the need to send out a deterrent “message” about benefits, writing in a note: “We must do the toughest package on benefits possible & announce this plus power to revoke visa plan and message to Romas.”
Bush ‘on mission from God’ in Iraq
Elsewhere in the Cabinet files, there was a record of frank conversations between Richard Armitage, the US deputy Secretary of State, and Britain’s ambassador to the US at the time, Sir David Manning, about the Iraq War.
In one meeting, Mr Armitage dismissed claims by the US commander in Iraq that he could put down a major uprising in the city of Fallujah within days as “bulls**t” and “politically crass”, and appealed for Mr Blair to use his influence with Mr Bush to persuade him there needed to be a wider “political process” if order was to be restored.
Tony Blair with George Bush
In another meeting, Mr Armitage spoke of President Bush being faced with a “dose of reality” about the conflict.
Sir David reported: “Rich summed it all up by saying that Bush still thought he was on some sort of a mission from God, but that recent events had made him ‘rather more sober’.”
Italian PM felt like ‘jilted lover’
Other papers described a fall-out with Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi after he was excluded from a trilateral summit of the UK, France and Germany.
He is said to have been “hurt” because unlike the other two nations he had backed Britain and the US over the invasion of Iraq, and threatened to challenge Britain’s EU rebate at every opportunity as a result.
In a report of a meeting between Britain’s ambassador to Rome, Sir Ivor Roberts, and Mr Berlusconi’s foreign affairs adviser, Giovanni Castellaneta, Sir Ivor wrote: “The gist of what he had to say was that Berlusconi was feeling badly let down by the prime minister.
Tony Blair with Silvio Berlusconi inside number 10 Downing Street.
“He actually used the image of a jilted lover (very Berlusconi) and added that there was something of the southern Italian about Berlusconi which made him quite vindictive when he thought his affections had been misplaced or betrayed.
“The word ‘tradito’ (betrayed) came up quite often.”
The row even came up during a video conference between Mr Blair and Mr Bush the following week, with the US president expressing “some concern in a jokey way, on Berlusconi’s behalf, over Italy’s exclusion”, according to a Downing Street note of the call.
In the face of such concerns, Mr Blair felt it necessary to travel to Rome to personally placate the unhappy premier and assure him of his continuing support.
John Major’s Zimbabwe intervention
The papers also revealed that former Conservative prime minister John Major – who preceded Mr Blair – privately wrote to his successor to urge him to “indemnify” English cricket for any financial losses if it was sanctioned for pulling out of a controversial tour of Zimbabwe.
Sir John, a noted cricket fan, said the tour was “morally repugnant” given Robert Mugabe’s human rights record, but pointed out that “draconian” rules by the world game’s governing body (ICC) imposed penalties on countries for cancelling – putting English cricket at risk of bankruptcy.
The letter came after Mr Blair had told MPs that in his “personal opinion” the tour should be abandoned, but it would “step over the proper line” for ministers to issue an instruction
Sir John Major
Mr Major said if the government “expresses a view” that the tour should not go ahead – or there was a vote in parliament to that effect – then it would be “very difficult” for the ICC to penalise England.
And in the “very unlikely circumstances” that it were to do so, he said the government should indemnify the ICC for any financial losses.
“I daresay the Treasury would hate this, but the blunt truth is that the government could not let English cricket go to the wall because of a refusal to intervene,” Mr Major wrote.
The tour ultimately went ahead.
Ministers urged to communicate in post-it notes
Meanwhile, other papers revealed that ministers in Blair’s government were advised to use post-it notes for sensitive messages to avoid having to release them under the new Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.
The Labour government had passed the bill in 2000, which requires public bodies to disclose information requested by the public, but as its full implementation date crept up in 2005 there was growing disquiet about its implications.
One No 10 adviser wrote to Mr Blair suggesting post-it notes – which could presumably then be thrown away once the message had been read – as a way of getting round the requirement to disclose official material in response to FoI requests.
Police investigating the deaths of a British couple at their home in rural France have released details from a post-mortem examination.
Prosecutors say Dawn Searle, 56, was found at their property in Les Pesquies with “several” injuries to her head, while her husband, Andrew Searle, 62, was found hanged with no visible defensive injuries.
They are investigating whether the deaths are the result of a murder-suicide or if a third party was involved.
The pair are said to have been found dead by a German friend, who lives nearby, on Thursday after Mr Searle didn’t arrive for one of their regular dog walks.
The couple moved to the hamlet of Les Pesquies around a decade ago and married in the nearby town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, in the south of France, in 2023.
Andrew and Dawn Searle’s home
A statement from the office of public prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller said Ms Searle was found partially dressed with a major wound to her skull next to a box with jewellery inside.
But no object or weapon was found that could’ve caused the wounds, which an autopsy carried out in Montpellier on Monday found were caused by a blunt and sharp object. There were no signs of sexual assault.
The house appeared to have been quickly searched, while some cash was found in the couple’s room.
Investigators are conducting further examinations, including toxicology and pathology tests, to help determine the precise circumstances of their deaths.
A police officer outside Andrew and Dawn Searle’s home in France
The village of Villefranche-de-Rouergue Aveyron
They each have two children from previous relationships and Ms Searle’s son, the country musician and former Hollyoaks star Callum Kerr, said they were in mourning in a statement posted on Saturday.
Family members are understood to have travelled to France, where they have spoken with investigators.
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The mayor of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Jean-Sebastien Orcibal, who was also a neighbour of the Searles, said villagers and the British expat community were going to be getting “psychological help” following the incident, which has left locals in shock.
Speaking to Sky News from the town hall in which he conducted the couple’s wedding ceremony, he said: “It doesn’t seem like the problem comes from here because when we knew them and saw them living here they were very happy, very friendly and didn’t seem to have any problems.
“The problem seems to come from the past or somewhere far away.
“It’s an isolated act, it’s very independent. It doesn’t say that it’s a very dangerous territory, in fact, it’s very peaceful and that’s why probably Andy and Dawn chose to live here, because it’s very peaceful.
“Now, did their past come back and get them? That’s another story. That’s totally different from where we are. It could’ve happened anywhere.”
A Foreign Office spokesperson previously said: “We are supporting the family of a British couple who died in France and are liaising with the local authorities.”
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Warren Gatland is leaving his role as Wales rugby head coach with immediate effect.
The 61-year-old was in charge of the national team between 2007 and 2019, before returning to the post in 2022.
He is Wales‘s longest-serving head coach and arguably the most successful in the Welsh Rugby Union’s (WRU) history, with a gate at Cardiff‘s Principality Stadium renamed “Gatland’s Gate” in honour of him in 2019.
But pressure has been growing on Gatland amid a record string of defeats for his Welsh side – 14 losses in a row.
The WRU confirmed on Tuesday that Gatland will be replaced by Cardiff Rugby head coach Matt Sherratt on an interim basis.
Warren Gatland during the 2025 Six Nations official launch. Pic: Reuters
The team had a disappointing autumn international series, including losing to Fiji at home in Cardiff for the first time.
The team also suffered the indignity of picking up the wooden spoon in last year’s Six Nations championship for the first time since 2003, and are yet to win a game at this year’s tournament.
Wales failed to score in this year’s opening match, losing to France 43-0, before going on to lose to Italy 22-15 on Saturday.
Gatland returned to Welsh rugby union after succeeding fellow New Zealander Wayne Pivac as Wales head coach.
He also served as head coach for three British and Irish Lions tours in 2013, 2017, and 2021.
In his original stint as Wales head coach, Gatland oversaw four Six Nations victories – including three grand slams, when Wales won every game they played.
Gatland reached out to WRU chief executive Abi Tierney on Monday to discuss his future.
Ms Tierney said Gatland and the union agreed that making the change now – part way through the Six Nations championship – was “in the best interests of the Wales squad”.
She said the WRU was grateful to Gatland “for all he has done for the game in Wales”.
“He remains our longest-serving and most decorated head coach in terms of the silverware he has won,” she added.
Matt Sherratt will take charge of the Welsh team for the rest of the Six Nations. File pic: PA
‘Time for a change’
Gatland thanked the WRU for “affording [him] the time and resource to try to turn things around for this 2025 tournament”.
“We have worked hard, we have a talented young squad that is developing and have been desperate to turn potential into results but now is the right time for a change,” he added.
Sherratt will oversee Wales for the rest of the tournament, before a permanent replacement is named ahead of fixtures in Japan in the summer.
Speaking ahead of this year’s Six Nations championship, Gatland told critics to “write us off at your peril”.
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Gatland is not the first departure from the WRU in recent months, after the WRU’s executive director of rugby quit in December.
When he stepped down, Nigel Walker said it was “right” that he was “judged on performances on the pitch”.
He said: “Both of our senior teams have found the last 12 months extremely difficult and therefore I believe now is the right time for me to step down”.
Sir Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff Sue Gray has taken up her place in the House of Lords after she was nominated by the prime minister for a peerage.
Ms Gray will now be known as Baroness Gray of Tottenham, representing the area in north London where she was born, and she will sit in the upper chamber as a Labour peer.
The former civil servant, who quit Downing Street last October after about three months in the role, was nominated for a life peerage by the prime minister in December.
She had resigned from her job as Sir Keir’s top adviser amid a power struggle in Number 10.
It saw Morgan McSweeney, Labour’s former campaign director who masterminded the party’s election landslide, replace her in the role.
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Ms Gray rose to public prominence after authoring the report into parties in Downing Street during the pandemic.
Her move to Labour attracted headlines from the beginning, with the Tories raising questions about how much contact she’d had with the party about the top job while still a civil servant.
But it was an internal row that led to her leaving the chief of staff role, with Labour’s first three months in office dominated by negative headlines about her.
Tensions over Ms Gray’s position reached a crescendo when her salary of £170,000 – some £3,000 more than the prime minister – was leaked to the BBC in an apparent attempt to damage her politically.
It was also reported at the time that she was blamed by party staff who were disgruntled they were not being paid more than what they received when Labour was in opposition.
Ms Gray missed Labour’s first party conference in power as the prime minister attracted scrutiny for the more than £100,000 worth of gifts he accepted as Labour leader, including tickets to football matches, concerts and luxury clothes.
Baroness Gray was later offered the role of the prime minister’s envoy for the nations and regions, which she ultimately rejected after missing the first key summit relevant to her new remit.
In her resignation letter last October, Ms Gray said that while it had been “an honour to take on the role of chief of staff”, it had become clear that “intense commentary around my position risked becoming a distraction to the government’s vital work of change”.
“It is for that reason I have chosen to stand aside, and I look forward to continuing to support the prime minister in my new role,” she added.
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Ms Gray was among 30 new Labour peerages announced ahead of Christmas to redress the party “imbalance” in the House of Lords.
The Conservatives nominated six people, and the Liberal Democrats two.
Taking her seat in the unelected House of Lords, Ms Gray wore the traditional scarlet robes for the short introduction ceremony in the upper chamber, where she swore the oath of allegiance to the King.
She was supported by former Whitehall chief and independent crossbencher Lord O’Donnell and fellow Labour peer Baroness Harman.
Her son, the Labour MP Liam Conlon, watched the ceremony from the public gallery in the Lords.
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