The Government has abandoned plans to force businesses to reveal how many foreign staff they employ after accusations that the policy was "repugnant" and "racist".

During the Conservative Party conference Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, unveiled plans to force companies to reveal how many foreign staff they employ.

She warned that foreign workers should not be able to "take the jobs that British people should do" and announced plans to make companies publish the proportion of "international" staff on their books".

However Justine Greening, the Education Secretary, yesterday announced that companies will not be forced to publish the data. She said that it will instead be used to identify skills shortages.