Sajid Javid will unveil a major easing of Britain's immigration system that will enable thousands more highly-skilled migrants to come to the UK in the run-up to Brexit, The Telegraph has learned.

Businesses and employers will be able to recruit an extra 8,000 skilled migrants a year from other professions including IT experts, engineers and teachers, effectively increasing the cap by 40 per cent.

The Home Secretary is expected to announce on Friday that foreign doctors and nurses from outside the EU will be excluded from the "tier 2" visa cap to ensure the NHS can attract the "brightest and best" while giving business a higher allocation.

It will represent Mr Javid's first major migration policy and indicates that ministers are now prepared to project Britain as a more global country, open to business from beyond the EU after Brexit.

The announcement represents the most significant softening of the Government's position on non-EU migration since Theresa May was appointed Home Secretary in 2010. The Prime Minister previously rejected calls to relax the cap when pleas were made by Amber Rudd, her former Home Secretary.