EU told UK 'three million migrants is nothing' as Cameron negotiations exposed
THE UK was told three million migrants is "nothing'" during David Cameron's failed negations with EU leaders, according to a former aide.
David Cameron saw the immigration problem as more of a cultural issue than an economic one
Discussions in the run-up to the June referendum have been revealed by former Prime Minister David Cameron's top aide, Daniel Korksi.
Mr Korski has open up about the detailed and lengthy debates which took place between Mr Cameron and EU leaders as he tried to work out a deal to appease Eurosceptics.
He says leaders repeatedly shot down any attempts to reform the freedom of movement rules, a key factor prompting UK citizens to vote out.
The UK was told three million migrants is "nothing" during Mr Cameron's failed negotiations
They categorically dismissed Downing Street worries that three million migrants were likely headed for Britain's shores over the next decade, rejecting concerns over the strain the increased population was putting on public services.
Mr Korksi revealed to Politico that EU top brass simply told him to "spend a lot more money addressing the challenges with immigration".
Picking apart why Remainers, led by Mr Cameron, lost the referendum, Mr Korski claimed that officials were unable to flesh out how immigration was damaging the UK.
Daniel Korksi revealed that EU told him to spend a lot more money on immigration
We highlighted the pressure on public services like schools and hospitals
He said No 10 was "never able to counter these arguments" because they "failed to find any evidence of communities under pressure that would satisfy the European Commission".
Mr Cameron saw the immigration problem as more of a cultural issue than an economic one, said Mr Korski.
He and other aides tried to map out the concerns over immigration, saying: "We tried using absolute numbers: three million migrants likely to come over the next 10 years, six per cent of Lithuania's population living in the UK already.
"We highlighted the pressure on public services like schools and hospitals.
"And we appealed to European leaders to consider the impact of migratory flows on their own economies.
"These arguments were quickly shot down.
"Our European counterparts pointed out that the number of immigrants moving to the UK was relatively limited, compared to, for example, Germany.
Three million migrants were likely headed for Britain's shores over the next decade
"Or they called attention to the fact that European migrants paid more tax and used fewer public services than British citizens, which was true.
"They noted that our economy was growing, that we were almost at full employment, and thus that migration was more or less inevitable."
Mr Cameron claimed he had come back from negotiations with a good deal for Britain, after debating key issues such as child benefits, an 'emergency brake' on in-work benefits for EU citizens, more integration between the EU and UK among other issues.