Britain’s net migration will be 80,000 a year lower after leaving the EU, the country’s independent forecaster has said.

The Office of Budget Responsibility [OBR] said net immigration will be 185,000 a year rather than the 265,000 a year that was expected.

The news was welcomed by Eurosceptics who argued it “vindicated” their calls during the referendum that leaving the EU would help curb migration.

There will however be knock-on effects to the economy, with an extra £16bn of borrowing estimated to be needed until 2020 to cover the drop.

Despite the reduction in immigration, the Tories are still forecast to miss their target of lowering net migration to below 100,000 after Brexit.