Grant Shapps says Brexit lets UK control immigration, as record rise expected

Grant Shapps said Brexit had offered the UK control of its immigration policies. Photograph: Tayfun Salcı/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Grant Shapps has stressed the importance of post-Brexit controls on work visas after government sources confirmed that ministers are braced for a record increase in immigration figures this month.

Reports have suggested that official data will show annual net immigration of between 650,000 and 997,000 fuelled by a rise in non-EU immigration from people entering the UK to work and study.