Opposition to freedom of movement is driven by racism, senior Labour MP claims

Opposition to freedom of movement is driven by racism, a former Labour frontbencher and ally of Jeremy Corbyn has said.

Clive Lewis, the former shadow defence secretary, said immigration was an issue that the Left of the political spectrum found difficult to deal with.

He made the comments as he clashed with fellow Labour MP Caroline Flint who said people did not want Britain’s migration policy to be dictated by Brussels.

It came after the publication of a letter signed by more than 30 MPs, including Mr Lewis, calling on Labour to keep the UK in the Single Market and fight for continued freedom of movement.

Appearing on the Sunday with Niall Paterson programme on Sky News, Mr Lewis told Ms Flint: "I actually believe in freedom of movement. You are talking about managing migration.

"You are not going to like to hear this: it always comes back down to something the Left in this country has very much difficulty with, which is that it is ultimately about racism. It comes down to racism."

Ms Flint, a former minister for Europe under the last Labour government, rejected the claim.

Ms Flint said both Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, recognised that there had to be changes to the way movement from the EU was handled.

"People don't want to have our migration settled by the 27 other member states,” she said.

“They want us to be able to have the right to decide that.”

Mr Corbyn said in an interview on Sunday that he believed “there is going to be a lot of movement” in the future in terms of people coming to and from the UK after divorce from Brussels.

He said: “Inside of Europe a lot of people are going to come and work here and a lot of people from Britain are going to go and work there. There has to be an agreement on it and how it is achieved.”

Mr Corbyn’s comments suggest that some form of freedom of movement would continue under a Labour government.

Mr Lewis was one of more than 30 Labour MPs, seven MEPs and numerous other senior party figures to sign a letter urging Mr Corbyn to change tack on Brexit.

As well as arguing in favour of keeping the UK in the Single Market and Customs Union, the signatories also defend the benefits of immigration, saying Labour should “put an end to the exploitation of workers, not freedom of movement.”