PM accused of 'caving in to EU over £570m student swap deal

KEIR Starmer sparked anger yesterday as he announced new plans to further reverse the Brexit deal and tie Britain closer to Brussels.

- CHRISTIAN CALGIE Senior Political Correspondent

The government confirmed it is rejoining the EU Erasmus scheme for students on university and vocational courses and apprentices, sparking claims millions of pounds will be wasted on middle-class gap years.

British students will be able to take placement years across the Continent from 2027 and the government insists it widens opportunities to study and train abroad.

But ex-PM Boris Johnson walked away from the scheme, believing it was unjustifiably expensive and favoured middle classes.

Before Brexit, Erasmus saw twice as many EU students come to Britain as British students going to Europe. It cost the UK over £200million a year.

News of the U-turn sparked an immediate backlash as ministers confirmed Britain would pay around £570m for Erasmus membership in the 2027/28 year alone.