Shabana Mahmood’s immigration clampdown has been condemned by a top economist as a Reform-lite policy which has left the home secretary “completely tied up in knots” due to her subsequent climbdown.

Speaking in the Commons on Monday, the home secretary scaled back her plans to make foreign care workers wait up to 15 years for permanent settlement, saying those earning over £25,000 a year would now only have to wait five years.

High-earning foreign workers will also be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after five years - but most other migrants will still have to wait 10 years.

Ms Mahmood’s changes to the scheme came following signficant opposition from campaigners, as well as dozens of Labour MPs.

There was also a dispute over a £10 billion cost-saving figure over care workers as part of the initial plan used by the home secretary.

Jonathan Portes, a former chief economist at the Cabinet Office, claimed the figure was “nonsense” and “misleading” as it did not consider that migrants…