Many more workers have arrived in Britain from Eastern Europe since enlargement of the EU in May than the Government predicted, figures showed yesterday

Many more workers have arrived in Britain from Eastern Europe since enlargement of the EU in May than the Government predicted, figures showed yesterday. Nearly 91,000 people from the eight former Soviet-bloc states that joined the EU registered to work in the first five months after the expansion. The Tories said many others may have taken on a job without registering. In the run-up to enlargement, ministers dismissed suggestions of a major influx of migrant workers and regularly cited an official estimate of between 5,000 and 13,000 additional arrivals per year. The latest figures are seven times that forecast in under half the period. However, David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said they showed that the worker registration scheme, set up to dampen controversy over enlargement, was operating effectively. Normally, EU citizens can travel freely to settle and work in other member states. But the 15 existing members were allowed to operate controls on migration from the new states for up to seven years. While most governments imposed restrictions, Britain decided not to. The Government said Britain needed more workers but it faced accusations of failing to protect the country's borders. It decided to establish a registration scheme to discourage new arrivals from working in the black market. The Home Office said 45 per cent of those who had registered were already in the country. Mr Blunkett said the new arrivals, mostly aged between 24 and 34, had helped to fill job vacancies in hospitality and agriculture, and had legalised some who had not been paying tax.