UK was likely to introduce labour market restrictions for Bulgarian and Romanian workers once the two countries joined the EU, UK home secretary John Reid said as quoted by BBC.

"We need to consider carefully all of the implications of the accession of new states and ensure we have all the necessary safeguards in place to reassure the public", Reid said.
 
Unrestricted access would cause social dangers such as “the risks posed by criminals', Reid said.

Nearly 600 000 East Europeans moved to the UK since the last EU enlargement in 2004, BBC said.

UK was one of the three countries that decided to implement an open door policy for the workers from member countries that joined the EU in 2004.

According to officials migrants filled gaps in the UK labour market and helped in keeping inflation low, BBC said. Still a work-permit system was being considered.