PM Wants British Workers To Fill 600,000 Vacancies

Gordon Brown has pledged more jobs for British workers in response to the row over the number of migrants employed in the UK. The prime minister promised more help for the unemployed to fill the 600,000 vacancies he said were available.

This comes after Home Secretary Jacqui Smith apologised earlier in the week after it emerged that government figures on foreign workers were underestimated by 300,000.The number of foreign workers in the UK since 1997 is now thought to be 1.1million, not the 800,000 officially recorded.

The extra 300,000 was found after analysis of the Labour Force Survey, which is compiled by the Office for National Statistics, showed 8% of the UK's 29.1m workforce was foreign.
The revised figures relate to new jobs that have been created over the past 10 years.

The Prime Minister told GMTV: "If you look at the jobs situation as a whole, there are 600,000 vacancies in the economy...."I am really keen to get British people to take up these vacancies..."You can get to a situation where British people who want jobs get a chance to get those jobs."

The Conservatives say Mr Brown's pledge of "British jobs for British workers" is illegal under EU law.They say the government can do nothing to prevent migrant workers from new EU member states in Eastern European, such as Poland, from coming to work in the UK.