Coalition at war on immigration: Cable leads revolt against Tory election pledge on strict limit

A war has broken out within the Coalition over a key Conservative election pledge to impose a strict annual limit on immigration.

Liberal Democrat Vince Cable led a growing rebellion against enforcing a draconian cap on numbers coming into the country, demanding ‘as liberal a policy as possible’.

The Business Secretary has privately described the idea of a tight limit as ‘crazy’ at a time when Britain is trying to boost trade.

His call revealed deep divisions within the Government, with even some senior Tories sympathetic to watering down the policy.

They are understood to include universities minister David Willetts.

A senior Government source said Mr Cable would not back down from his position, which has led to a tense Cabinet standoff with Home Secretary Theresa May.

The row came as it emerged that immigration and rising birth rates mean that Britain accounted for nearly a third of the growth in population across the whole of Europe last year, with 412,000 added to the UK total.

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