Starmer under pressure to break youth visa deadlock

Sir Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure to break the deadlock with the European Union over post-Brexit youth visas, amid calls for a deal to be struck within weeks.

- KATE DEVLIN and MILLIE COOKE

The government failed to agree on a scheme to allow 18-35-year-olds to come and work in the UK, and vice versa, as part of its landmark agreement to “reset” relations with the bloc this week.

However, despite the setback, the two sides did agree to continue negotiations. Now, the UK’s former ambassador to France has called for the UK to make the EU an “improved” offer to achieve a breakthrough.

Lord Peter Ricketts told The Independent: “I would like to see the government make an improved offer on youth mobility to get [it] done. The Australia scheme has a cap of 45,000 visas a year, so an offer at around that level would seem reasonable, with a two to three-year duration.”