Major coverage for McIntyre over EU benefits ruling

Furbisher Media client Anthea McIntyre has received widespread media coverage during the past 24 hours.

Coverage includes the The Guardian, Express, Mirror, Reuters, ITV, Sky, Wall Street Journal and Mail Online.

It follows a European Court of Justice ruling that Britain has a right to protect its public finances from benefits tourism by imposing tests on EU citizens moving here and claiming benefits.

Miss McIntyre is Conservative MEP for the West Midlands and employment spokesman in the European Parliament.

She is quoted welcoming the ruling, which rejected a challenge from the European Commission. It had questioned whether the UK's decision to introduce a “right to reside” test for a number of social security benefits such as Child benefit, Child Tax Credit and Income Support was discriminatory.

However, the court upheld the UK's argument that non-active people coming to the UK must have sufficient resources to not become a burden on the UK's social security schemes.

Miss McIntyre told the media: "This is a victory for the UK and for common sense. It vindicates the Prime Minister's renegotiation stance, which has always been that free movement means freedom to work, not to claim benefits.

"The Commission may have attempted to dictate to Britain, but it has been put in its place by the EU's own institutions."