Immigration minister Brandon Lewis has said freedom of movement between UK and EU will come to an end in 2019, when the UK is due to formally leave the Union.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, he said,"Free movement of labour ends when we leave the European Union in spring 2019.”

Lewis’ remarks contradict earlier indications from cabinet ministers, including Defra secretary Michael Gove’s acknowledgement on Radio 4 on Wednesday that a transitional period after a Brexit deal is struck could see freedom of movement continue beyond the two-year negotiation period that began with Theresa May’s triggering of Article 50 in March. 

The Immigration minister’s statement coincides with Home Secretary Amber Rudd’s announcement that the government is only now commissioning a study to examine the role EU nationals play in the UK economy and society. The Migration Advisory Committee, which will undertake the study, will report back next year, and will make recommendations on how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy.

In her announcement, the Home Secretary also underlined there will be an implementation period when the UK leaves the EU to ensure there is no ‘cliff edge’ for employers or EU nationals in the UK.

Labour MPs accused the Tories of sowing more confusion, after cabinet ministers made apparently contradictory statements about a UK-US trade deal’s potential impacts on food standards earlier in the week. Commenting on Thursday, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said, “There is far too much heat and not enough light about immigration, so any truly objective and well-informed analysis must be welcome.

"We already know that immigrants, both EU and non-EU, make a huge contribution to the economy and to wider society. They help make the UK more internationally competitive, and sectors with staff shortages, such as the NHS, social care and agriculture, would be in serious difficulty without them.

"The report should be published. There must be no repeat of the buried Home Office reports into international students, or the Saudi funding of terrorism. And there should be no attempt to reform the immigration system until the report has been published and debated.”

Last month, an NFU survey suggested that numbers of overseas seasonal workers coming to work on British farms has dropped by 17% already. Farmers are already reporting an emerging shortage of labour on British farms, as the social impacts of Brexit, uncertainty about the future and the depreciation of the value of sterling are all having an impact, leaving more than 1,500 unfilled vacancies on British farms in May this year alone. The number of returning workers was almost halved over the period covered by the NFU’s survey (January - May).

Farm unions, vets’ groups and food companies have all pressed the government to ensure they will have continued access to labour as Brexit unfolds. In June, NFU’s horticulture board chair Ali Capper said,“A lack of clarity regarding the UK’s future relationship with the EU and a weakened sterling has contributed to the reduction in workers on farm now being reported by labour providers who source seasonal workers.

“Farmers and growers need to know how the government will deal with the need from industries that rely on seasonal workers and the NFU is calling for reassurance farmers will be able to source a reliable and competent workforce both now and in the future.”

Meanwhile, food policy experts have also taken aim at the government, claiming the British public haven’t been made aware of the huge implications Brexit will have for food prices, availability and safety. Three food and agriculture experts produced a joint paper for the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, in which they warned that the UK food system is not fit for Brexit, and urged the government to produce an overarching food strategy, with a view across traditional sector and departmental boundaries.