Wind turbine factory hopes hit by firm's fears of cap on immigration

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne revealed concerns had been raised with him by General Electric (GE), which is looking build a 100m offshore wind-turbine factory in the UK.

The Humber is believed to be one of the front-runners to host the plant, which could provide 2,000 jobs and give the region's economy a huge boost by manufacturing turbines for wind farms in the North Sea.

Mr Huhne has pledged to hold urgent meetings with Home Secretary Theresa May and Immigration minister Damian Green to relay his fears about the temporary cap introduced this year ahead of a permanent annual cap which will be brought in next year.

"I have been personally lobbied by some major investors, pointing out the problems that face them if we have an inflexible immigration cap," said Mr Huhne in an interview yesterday

"That was a point made to me very forcefully by GE.

"They are about to be, I hope, a very significant investor... One of the issues they raised was whether they were going to be able to get key skills in and out of the country, given our commitment to an immigration cap."

Mr Huhne is the second Liberal Democrat cabinet minister to speak out against the cap, after the Business Secretary Vince Cable warned it would be "very damaging to the UK economy".

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg also said on Sunday the limit – a flagship Tory pledge designed to cut high levels of immigration under Labour – should be reviewed if it was blocking companies from bringing in workers with skills they cannot find in this country.

Mr Huhne added: "I do think we need to look at this in the round. I think when most people consider immigration, what they want is for us to be extremely tough on people who do not have skills to offer the country.

"But where there are very high-level skills that are needed to make the economy work and be competitive, I think we need to be flexible enough to welcome those people in."