British PM allays fears over immigration cap on non-EU citizens

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"What we want is the brightest and best from India and elsewhere. That just means having a proper system in place," he was quoted as saying on the issue of overseas students .

British Business Secretary Vince Cable, who is part of the 39-member business delegation accompanying Cameron on a two-day visit to India, said the cap would not hamper movement of staff by foreign investors.

Cable said Britain is an open economy and that the country recognizes the importance of inter-company transfers and movement of specialist staff.

He said the cap system will respect the needs for foreign investors from India and elsewhere to ensure an easier movement of people.

Earlier, Cameron had stated Indian government will be among those consulted about the level at which the cap should be set before its introduction.

Meanwhile, on the eve of British premier Cameron’s India visit, Vince Cable had on Tuesday created a stir by saying he preferred a more liberal immigration policy for non-EU workers than what the British government was currently adopting, a Financial Times blog reported.

Before heading for New Delhi, Cable, a Liberal Democrat minister in the British coalition government was quoted as saying that he wanted a liberal policy as opposed to the Conservative line of a tougher one.

The Financial Times blog said Cable 'has risked opening a new split within the coalition by admitting that he wants to have a more liberal immigration policy', and that too, on the eve of Cameron's India visit.

Cable said India has already conveyed to Britain that the cap should be reviewed if the latter were to attract more foreign investment then. They (India) are right to make the point, he said.

The London Evening Standard had splashed Cable's comments quoting him as saying: 'It's no great secret that in my department and me personally, we want to see an open economy, and as liberal an immigration policy as it's possible to have. We believe that because it's good for growth and good for the British economy."

He also said: 'But we're trying to reconcile two different objectives, one of which is to reassure the British public that immigration is under control, and the other is to have an open economy where we can bring in talents from around the world."