Tougher rules for unskilled migrants

Low-skilled workers from the developing world will be barred from moving to Britain as immigration rules are tightened. Foreign nationals wanting to marry a Briton could also face a language test to prove their ability to integrate.

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, announced the measures as she admitted the Government needed to do more to win public confidence in border controls. She said: "We need to earn that faith by delivering a migration system that is managed robustly and provides high levels of protection."

A new points-based system for economic migrants will be introduced in the spring, allowing them to come to this country if they have sufficient skills and qualifications. Acknowledging that the decision could anger some employers, Liam Byrne, the Immigration minister, said: "We are not running the immigration policy on the exclusive interests of the UK business community we are running it in Britain's national interest."

Habib Rahman, chief executive of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said the new system "slams the door in thefaces of the unskilled people of the developing world, while creaming off their most highly trained and educated individuals."