Jeremy Corbyn hints at softened stance on freedom of movement

Jeremy Corbyn has hinted that Labour could be prepared to accept freedom of movement if it were leading the Brexit negotiations with Europe.

Freedom of movement is one of the four governing principles of the EU, along with the free movement of goods, services and capital.

The party had previously ruled out freedom of movement, saying in its 2017 election manifesto that the policy would end when Britain left the EU.

The Labour leader today hinted at a softening of that stance, saying he recognised the need of the free movement of workers in sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture.

Read more: Theresa May promises MPs a 'new and improved' Brexit deal

When asked by the BBC whether Labour would accept freedom of movement as a non-EU member, such as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, Corbyn replied: "It would be open for negotiation, the level of movement of people between Europe and this country if we were a non-member of the EU.

"At the moment we're still in the EU and therefore there is free movement."

He added: "We would ensure that there would be an ability to move from country to country, especially where there's a need for a workforce to achieve that."

Corbyn was also pressed on the issue of a second referendum, and whether he would vote for a motion that called for one in the House of Commons, which is due to hear another round of indicative votes on various Brexit options.

Read more: Shadow Brexit secretary calls for public vote in Withdrawal Agreement Bill

He said a public vote had to be based on a credible option to leave the EU.

"What we fought the general election on was to respect the result of the referendum – and that we've done – to try to get a deal which guarantees trade and relations with Europe in the future, and if we can get that through parliament, the proposals we put, then I think it would be reasonable to have a public vote to decide on that in the future," he said.