TONY BLAIR was forced to order a new benefits clampdown yesterday to deter people from Eastern Europe entering Britain without jobs from May.

People from the ten countries joining the European Union on May 1 will now have to support themselves for up to two years before they become eligible for benefits.

The move has been forced on the Prime Minister because of deepening concern that Britain’s social security system will attract “benefit tourists” from the new EU states, which include seven former members of the communist bloc.

However, the measure falls far short of action taken by many other EU states, which have imposed restrictions for up to seven years on the full right to work. Government officials said that Mr Blair did not want to restrict freedom of movement, particularly with shortages of some skilled workers in Britain.

His surprise announcement at Question Time in the Commons, after giving the impression that he might end concessions allowing the full right to work for migrants from the accession countries, caused some confusion.

David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, spoke of a shambles. “With just a couple of months to go before the accession date, the Government does not seem to have any clear idea about what it is going to do when migrants start arriving,” he said. “Other EU countries have clear policies, having worked out their policies over a substantial period of time.

“Our Government seems to be in complete chaos and dis-array over the matter. We need to know exactly what will happen when migrants arrive on May 1 and I urge the Home Secretary to clarify his position immediately.”

Britain has been left exposed as the only major EU state offering full accession rights to new member states, which have a combined population of 73 million people. Countries across Europe are imposing restrictions on either the right to work or the right to claim benefits.

Britain is now tightening up the entitlement to benefits for all EU citizens, but there will be no need to obtain a work permit and no restriction on the right to work. On May 1, Britain and Ireland are likely to be the only current members of the EU who can claim that they are treating all its citizens exactly the same.

Mr Blair told the Commons: “It is important that we recognise that there is a potential risk from these accession countries of people coming in.

“It’s precisely for that reason now that we are looking at the concessions we gave, and if it is right that closing off those concessions is going to mean we deal with this problem, then we will do so.”

Michael Howard, the Tory leader, had warned the Prime Minister that people were more likely to come to Britain because other EU states had imposed controls.

The Prime Minister replied: “It is precisely for that reason that we are examining doing this now. The reason why it is important that we do it in the right way is that if we decide to withdraw this concession it has to be done in a way that is going to be fully effective.

“In addition to that, we’ve also got to look frankly at whether the eligibility that people have for benefits in this country is also too generous under the existing regime.”

Mr Blair’s words took the Home Office and the Department for Work and Pensions by surprise, as they appeared to suggest that he was intending to scrap the concession to allow people from the ten states to work in Britain.

But Downing Street later insisted: “He is not talking about rescinding the right to work. We believe the right to work is important to us, not least because of skills shortages.”

Ministers made clear that if a surge of nationals from the accession states threatened jobs, they would reimpose restrictions either across the board or in particular industries.

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