JACK Straw stands by his admission that dropping immigration restrictions on Eastern European migrants was a “spectacular mistake” after it unexpectedly hit national headlines.

The Blackburn Labour MP said handing immediate working rights to Poles and Hungarians who joined the EU in 2004 when he was Home Secretary was a “well-intentioned policy we messed up”.

The comments got a mixed reaction locally.

Secretary of Todmorden Polish Club Florko Wieslaw said: “People coming from Eastern Europe just want to improve their lives.”

Rossendale and Darwen Tory MP Jake Berry said: “I’m glad he’s had the honesty to admit what a spectacular mess Labour made of our immigration system.”

Hyndburn Labour MP Graham Jones said: “He was right to say he made a mistake. The influx of Eastern Europeans put a huge pressure on local health and other services.” In his Lancashire Telegraph column last week, Mr Straw wrote: “One spectacular mistake in which I participated (not alone) was in lifting the transitional restrictions on the eastern European states like Poland and Hungary which joined the EU in mid-2004.”

He pointed out that unlike other EU members which delayed their working until 2011, Britain allowed them to work from 2004. He cited Home Office research, suggesting between 5,000 and 13,000 immigrants per year would come up to 2010’ and went on: “Net migration reached close to a quarter of a million at its peak in 2010. Lots of red faces, mine included.”

Mr Straw said last night: “I stand by my comments although I am surprised at the reaction. I said the same thing in my autobiography last year. On the other hand, the latest research suggests they put more into Britain than they took out.”

UKIP North-West Euro-MP Paul Nuttall challenged him to oppose next year’s border opening to Romanians and Bulgarians: “We must not repeat the madness of opening the doors in 2004 a decade later.”