Theresa May's office quickly dismisses MP's call for new Brexit referendum

There will be no second referendum on Brexit, a spokesperson for Theresa May said on Monday, repeating the British prime minister's belief that her plan for leaving the European Union was the only way to get a deal that meets the government's aims.

"The British public have voted to leave the European Union. There is not going to be a second referendum ... under any circumstances," the spokesperson told reporters.

The statement came not long afer a Conservative Party MP and former cabinet minister said in an interview that the British public should be consulted in a new referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union.

Justine Greening told the BBC on Monday that Parliament is "gridlocked" over Brexit. She said she and other senior Conservative Party lawmakers favour a new vote.

May on Monday accepted amendments to a customs bill put forward by Brexit hardliners who oppose her plan for a "common rule book" with the European Union after the country leaves the bloc.

The amendments seek to limit the government's ability to set up the customs arrangements May has advocated, which would keep close ties to Europe. They were proposed by the European Research Group, the research arm of May's Conservative Party which is headed by lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Another Conservative Party legislator, Anna Soubry, who opposes the "hard" Brexit that would see Britain leave the EU without a trade deal in place, said the government's acceptance of the four amendments mean that Rees-Mogg is now effectively "running Britain."

May's recent white paper outlining plans for a "common rule book" with the EU over trade in goods has infuriated those who favour a complete break. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and David Davis, the minister responsible for negotiating with the European Union, resigned from their cabinet posts last week, each favouring a hard exit.

They have been replaced by Jeremy Hunt and Dominic Raab, respectively.

Decline in EU immigration noticeable not but steep

Business minister Greg Clark urged party members to get behind the prime minister's plan: "When it comes to Parliament, I hope and expect that it will be persuasive that what is on offer will be good for the U.K., it would be good for every part of the U.K."

Concern about high rates of immigration was a major reason Britons voted to leave the EU, and May has vowed to end unrestricted free movement of EU citizens to Britain after the country leaves the bloc in March 2019.

Official data released Monday showed that the number of EU immigrants coming to Britain fell to a five-year low last year, as fewer people arrived without a firm job offer during the first full calendar year since June 2016's Brexit vote.

Monday's data showed that overall net long-term immigration of people of all nationalities to Britain rose to 282,000 in 2017 from 249,000 in 2016, though this is well below the record of 332,000 recorded in 2015. But net immigration of EU citizens dropped to 101,000 last year from 133,000 in 2016, and was almost half the number who moved to Britain in the 12 months running up to the Brexit vote, said Britain's Office for National Statistics (ONS).

"The estimated number of EU citizens coming to the UK 'looking for work' continued to decrease over the last year and the number coming to the UK for a definite job has remained stable," the statistics agency said.

Madeleine Sumption, director of Oxford University's Migration Observatory, said the fall probably reflected lower unemployment in the EU and the weaker pound, as well as Brexit concerns.

"The data suggest that the UK is still an attractive country, but its allure for EU migrants has declined considerably over the past couple of years," she said. "It's not all about Brexit: EU net migration was unusually high just before the referendum, and it's likely that some of the decline would have happened anyway even if the UK had not voted to leave," she added.

Overall net immigration to Britain should be viewed as broadly stable, the ONS said.

Britain's Institute of Directors said businesses were suffering from skills shortages and urged May to keep the door open for immigration.

"The government's aim for an ambitious post-Brexit labour mobility scheme is welcome, but we also need to see the government creating a positive overall migration policy later on this year," chief economist Tej Parikh said.