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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| UKIP: EU migrants in UK legally would be able to stay | UKIP: EU migrants in UK legally would be able to stay |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| The UKIP candidate in the Rochester and Strood by-election, Mark Reckless, has rejected claims he backs deporting existing EU migrants. | The UKIP candidate in the Rochester and Strood by-election, Mark Reckless, has rejected claims he backs deporting existing EU migrants. |
| At a hustings on Tuesday Mr Reckless suggested existing EU migrants should only be allowed to remain in the UK for "a transitional period". | At a hustings on Tuesday Mr Reckless suggested existing EU migrants should only be allowed to remain in the UK for "a transitional period". |
| Asked on BBC Radio Kent if he was suggesting they should be deported, he said: "No I was not suggesting that." | Asked on BBC Radio Kent if he was suggesting they should be deported, he said: "No I was not suggesting that." |
| Mr Reckless accused his Conservative critics of "twisting" his words. | Mr Reckless accused his Conservative critics of "twisting" his words. |
| He said EU citizens in the UK legally at the time the country left the union, would be able to stay in the country. | He said EU citizens in the UK legally at the time the country left the union, would be able to stay in the country. |
| But an "Australian-style" points system would then apply to all new migrants from both inside and outside the European Union. | But an "Australian-style" points system would then apply to all new migrants from both inside and outside the European Union. |
| And EU citizens already in the UK illegally would have to apply for a work permit. | And EU citizens already in the UK illegally would have to apply for a work permit. |
| He also said those EU citizens who had been legally in the UK for 10 years would be allowed to apply for citizenship. | He also said those EU citizens who had been legally in the UK for 10 years would be allowed to apply for citizenship. |
| The original comments came when Mr Reckless was asked at a televised hustings broadcast by ITV's Meridian, what would happen to EU migrants already living and working in Britain. | The original comments came when Mr Reckless was asked at a televised hustings broadcast by ITV's Meridian, what would happen to EU migrants already living and working in Britain. |
| He suggested they would be looked at "sympathetically" but should only be allowed to remain in the UK for "a fixed period". | He suggested they would be looked at "sympathetically" but should only be allowed to remain in the UK for "a fixed period". |
| The Labour Party said the original remarks showed UKIP supports a policy of repatriation. | |
| A UKIP spokesman said Mr Reckless had been "misunderstood", though not misquoted. | A UKIP spokesman said Mr Reckless had been "misunderstood", though not misquoted. |
| The spokesman said: "It is absolutely not our policy to round up EU migrants and put them on a boat at Dover and send them back to wherever they came from." | The spokesman said: "It is absolutely not our policy to round up EU migrants and put them on a boat at Dover and send them back to wherever they came from." |
| He added that UKIP's policy on immigration - which is to introduce a points-based system ending EU freedom of movement - would not apply retrospectively. | He added that UKIP's policy on immigration - which is to introduce a points-based system ending EU freedom of movement - would not apply retrospectively. |
| The full list of candidates, in alphabetical order by surname, is: | The full list of candidates, in alphabetical order by surname, is: |
| Barker, Mike - Independent | Barker, Mike - Independent |
| Challis, Christopher - Independent | Challis, Christopher - Independent |
| Davidson, Hairy Knorm - Official Monster Raving Loony Party | Davidson, Hairy Knorm - Official Monster Raving Loony Party |
| Fransen, Jayda - Britain First | Fransen, Jayda - Britain First |
| Goldsbrough, Stephen William - Independent | Goldsbrough, Stephen William - Independent |
| Gregory, Clive - Green Party | Gregory, Clive - Green Party |
| Juby, Geoff - Liberal Democrats | Juby, Geoff - Liberal Democrats |
| Khan, Naushabah - Labour | Khan, Naushabah - Labour |
| Long, Nick - People Before Profit | Long, Nick - People Before Profit |
| Osborn, Dave - Patriotic Socialist Party | Osborn, Dave - Patriotic Socialist Party |
| Reckless, Mark - UK Independence Party | Reckless, Mark - UK Independence Party |
| Rose, Charlotte - Independent | Rose, Charlotte - Independent |
| Tolhurst, Kelly - Conservative | Tolhurst, Kelly - Conservative |