Don’t ‘close the door’ on the economy with tough immigration crackdown during Brexit, plead business leaders – WBNews

Theresa May’s shift towards a ‘hard Brexit’ risks destroying Britain’s hopes of remaining an open economy, business leaders have warned. CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn has voiced alarm at the direction of government policies following confusion over attempts to get companies to reveal their proportion of foreign workers. She warned that the Prime Minister’s insistence on a dramatic cut in immigration could mean ‘closing the door’ on the UK’s history as an open trading nation. Theresa May signalled a tough approach to Brexit during the Conservative Party conference last week CBI chief Carolyn Fairbairn has warned jobs and communities will suffer if the government insists on taking a hard line Ministers have been scrambling to unwind the plan to ‘name and shame’ companies with migrant workers over the weekend following a fierce backlash. Ms Fairbairn told The Times that businesses were appalled at the idea, stating: ‘They regard it as an indication that it is somehow a shameful thing to be attracting the best talent from around the world, rather than a source of pride.’ The CBI chief warned that jobs and communities would suffer if ministers allowed a post-referendum divide between government and enterprise to form. ‘What we have heard over the last few days, if you add up the messages in total, are signs that the door is being closed, to an extent, on the open economy, that has helped fuel investment,’ she said. With the plan to list foreign workers provoking uproar, the Government went into retreat…more detail