Immigration control vital for EU deal

The runaway favourite to become Britain's next prime minister yesterday vowed to push for an EU trade deal that limited immigration, as her most high-profile challenger struggled to brush off claims of treachery.

"The Brexit vote gave us a very clear message that we couldn't allow free movement (of people) to continue as it had," interior minister Theresa May said of last week's stunning decision to leave the European Union.

"It's important we get the right deal about controling free movement, but it's also about ensuring that we get the best deal possible on the trade of goods and services," May, who campaigned to stay in the bloc.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has insisted that a British trade deal would have to include freedom of movement, but French finance minister Michel Sapin later said that all issues were "on the table".

May said she would seek to "guarantee" that EU nationals already in Britain would be protected by any change in the immigration law, and said there was "no timescale" for leaving the union.

"This is not about the UK retreating, this is about the UK going centre stage in the world," she added.