Nigel Farage's plan to save £234billion by banning non-UK citizens from claiming benefits is facing questions as it emerged there would be a carve-out for EU citizens with settled status.
The party has said it would axe the right of migrants to apply for indefinite leave to remain, ban anyone who is not a UK citizen from claiming benefits and force those applying for UK citizenship to renounce other citizenship.
But it has exempted EU citizens with settled status from its plans to ban migrant access to benefits and its policies on indefinite leave to remain (ILR).
Government sources have said there are 777,000 foreign Universal Credit claimants with this status.
Reform UK head of policy Zia Yusuf said yesterday the party would "open negotiations" with the EU on the welfare aspect of its plans.
But European sources have questioned why it would agree to the proposals which would "make EU nationals worse off than they are now".
According to The Times, one European diplomat said: "It takes two to tango in a treaty negotiation, why would we agree to reopen this very sensitive Brexit legacy to make EU nationals worse off than they are now.
“It would not happen and if a UK government stripped people of their rights under the withdrawal treaty there would be huge consequences.
"It would breach all the undertakings made by Britain since the referendum and would crash relations.”
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Wes Streeting urges people to ignore Donald Trump's claims about link between paracetamol and autism
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has urged pregnant women to ignore Donald Trump’s claims about a link between taking paracetamol and autism.
The US president said there had been a “meteoric rise” in cases of autism and suggested that Tylenol, which is called paracetamol in the UK, is a potential cause.
But Mr Streeting told ITV’s Lorraine: “I would just say to people watching, don’t pay any attention whatsoever to what Donald Trump says about medicine.”
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Jeremy Corbyn's Your Party membership portal shut down after 'potentially fraudulent activity' complaints
The membership portal for Jeremy Corbyn's Your Party was shut down after "potentially fraudulent activity" complaints.
Co-founder of the new party, Zarah Sultana, however said "everybody's money is still safe".
"The system is down because the software hosts received complaints about ‘potential fraudulent activity’ and then froze the account," she told the Telegraph.
"We are working with the hosts and hope to have it restored soon. Everybody’s money is still safe.“
"Once the system is restored, everyone who signed up will be contacted using the email address they used to register, including information on how to obtain a refund.”
A public spat between the two Your Party founders occurred following the launch of the membership portal last week, with Ms Sultana saying she had been subjected to a "sexist boy's club".
Rachel Reeves now urged to make pensioners pay for Budget 'black hole' in unprecedented tax raid
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been urged to move the tax burden towards pensioners
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Rachel Reeves has been urged by an influential Labour-linked think tank to move the tax burden away from young, working Britons and towards pensioners.
The Resolution Foundation has suggested Ms Reeves should hike income tax by two per cent - while slashing the National Insurance rate by the same amount.
The move could raise £6billion for the Government as income tax is also paid by pensioners and self-employed Britons, while workers on a salary would see the hike cancelled out by the NI drop.