Boris Johnson sparks Cabinet storm after calling for a Brexit amnesty of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants in UK
Policy received furious response from Cabinet ministers who insisted it would make Britain more of a honey trap for illegals
BORIS Johnson has sparked a fresh Cabinet row by calling for a Brexit amnesty for tens of thousands of illegal immigrants.
During a No10 meeting chaired by Theresa May, the Foreign Secretary renewed his controversial former policy when he was London Mayor to give residency rights to any illegals who have escaped detection for 10 years.
The hidden mass would then start paying taxes and deliver a big boost Treasury takings, he argued.
There are an estimated 1.1 million illegal immigrants currently living in Britain.
The suggestion sparked a furious response from other Cabinet ministers, who insisted it would only make Britain more of a honey trap for illegal immigrants.
One senior minister there told The Sun: “It’s an insane idea and would make ordinary Brits furious.
“A lot of us round the table couldn’t believe Boris is still going on about this.
“Privately, Boris is still the most pro-immigration member of the Cabinet.”
But The Sun has also been told Home Secretary Amber Rudd was not one of Boris’s critics, and instead asked him for details of his thinking after the session broke up.
Boris’s outburst came during a recent meeting of the PM’s Immigration Implementation Taskforce, a committee of 12 Cabinet ministers chaired by Mrs May.
The PM has been a long-standing opponent of immigration amnesties from her time as Home Secretary.
The spat’s revelation is the latest to be leaked about Boris’s controversial actions inside government in recent weeks.
The constant leaks have left the former Tory leadership hopeful furious, and aides say are calculated to discredit him.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: “Boris reiterated what he has said publicly before about amnesties, including during the EU referendum campaign.
“He feels he has a moral responsibility to raise it, as it is what he believes.
“Any suggestion that there was strong disagreement expressed during the meeting is wrong.”
But a Home Office spokesman said: “We are not looking afresh at an amnesty for illegal migrants, and will not be”.
The row comes ahead of the latest quarterly immigration figures, which are set to show new arrivals are still running close to a record high.