David Cameron 'made late appeal to Angela Merkel over free movement before EU referendum'

The then-Prime Minister reportedly tried to persuade German chancellor to change stance in days before referendum

Mr Cameron with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Getty)

David Cameron issued a last-minute plea to the German leader, Angela Merkel, for the UK to be able to limit free movement if it remained in the EU, days before the European referendum, it has been reported.

Shortly before the vote, after polls showed public opinion swinging towards leaving the EU, the then-Prime Minister called Ms Merkel to ask her to allow the UK a concession on EU immigration.

But Mr Cameron gave up trying to get the German leader to agree, after Downing Street decided it might appear as a sign of weakness, BBC2's Newsnight reported.

No.10 had planned the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, European Council president, Donald Tusk, and French President, Francois Hollande, would pledge their support for the concession alongside Ms Merkel, BBC2's Newsnight said.

Remain's strategy during the referendum campaign had been to avoid discussing immigration and instead emphasize the economic dangers posed by leaving the EU.

Yet the phone call to the German chancellor suggests Mr Cameron came close to abandoning this plan.

The Leave campaign had gathered momentum on the issue of immigration following the release of migration statistics in late May. They showed the Government had failed to meets its immigration target.

Michael Gove had told Mr Cameron the Conservative manifesto pledge to keep net migration to the tens of thousands, rather than hundreds of thousands, was “corrosive of public trust” because it was unachievable while the UK was in the EU.

Lord Cooper of Windrush, a Conservative peer and researcher for the Remain campaign, told Newsnight: "The people who are very, very concerned about immigration, what they wanted was purely and simply for the UK to be able to have total control of its borders and total control of the flow of people into this country.

“And we didn't have an argument that could remotely compete with that.

"It meant we couldn't really engage in the campaign on that vital issue. We didn't have much option but to keep trying to pivot back to the economic risks."

Speaking after standing down as Prime Minister, Mr Cameron said finding a solution to the issue of immigration would be a “major test” for his successor as PM, Theresa May.

The then-PM's comments came after Ms Merkel warned the UK needed to accept the free movement of people if it wanted to keep access to the single market, following the vote to leave the EU.

Ms Merkel told the German parliament she would not allow the UK to “cherry-pick” it’s favourite parts of the EU after leaving.