Tony Blair has set out the case for carefully managed migration as the EU prepares to open its borders to former members of the Warsaw pact.

After being left on the back foot following the Eastern European visa row, Tony Blair said that EU enlargement can deliver benefits to the British economy.

But he warned that Britain will not adopt an open door policy - announcing that migrants who are unable to find work will not qualify for benefits or housing.

Plans to restrict access to benefits will be fleshed out by deputy prime minister John Prescott later this week.

Migrants who come to the UK but who are not fit to work will not be able to claim benefit or qualify for council housing, the government will say.

'Tough but fair'

The prime minister insisted that abuse will be stamped out - pledging to be "tough but fair".

"We will neither be a 'fortress Britain' nor an 'open door Britain'," he said.

"Instead we will tighten the immigration system as necessary and deal with abuses so that public support for controlled and selective migration which benefits Britain is maintained."

"Those who say that migration is out of control in that the UK is taking more people than other countries are simply wrong," he added.

While Blair warned that the UK is not a soft touch, he told a business audience that managed migration could fill the skills gap.

As 10 new EU countries prepare for EU membership this week, the prime minister focused on the positive benefits for Britain.

Facts

He said that migrant workers can be used to enhance British competitiveness and dismiss suggestions that the UK is set to be swamped by cheap labour.

Blair set out a series of "facts" on migration:

1. "The movement of labour is and always has been absolutely crucial to our economy."
   
   
2. "This country is already highly selective about who it allows into our economy."
   
   
3. "In international terms, the UK is not a particularly high migration country."
   
   
4. "Far from always, or even mainly, being a burden on our public services, migrant people are often those who are delivering them."
   
   
5. "Migration is not always one way."

Tough month

The speech came in the wake of a tough month for the government’s immigration policy.

The Home Office was forced to suspend all visa applications from Romania and Bulgaria after evidence of an organised visa scam was uncovered.

Following a series of immigration summits in the wake of the crisis the government has announced that it will get tough with those attempting to abuse the system.

Ministers last week pledged to mount a "blitz" on abuses of the immigration system such as bogus marriages and language schools.

That led the opposition to suggest that the government was performing a U-turn on its earlier "open door" policy to workers and students from the new accession states.

Ministers also made a late decision to restrict access to benefits for new migrants ahead of the May 1 EU accession date.