Andy Burnham's Brexit policy was branded a 'mess' today after the Prime Minister vowed that the UK would not EU accept freedom of movement without a fresh referendum - only to be contradicted by his own office.

Mr Burnham used a TV interview today to lean into taking the country back into the European bloc while placating fears about an influx of migrants.

He Labour general election on a platform of undoing Brexit and taking Britain back into the European Union.

But speaking to Good Morning Britain he vowed that freedom of movement, a key strand of the EU single market, would not happen without a fresh referendum because he would  'never move ahead of the British public when it comes to Brexit'.

But just hours later a No10 spokeswoman told reporters that no decision had yet been made because the Government was 'not at the stage where we have concrete proposals'.

'The Prime Minister isn't proposing a return to freedom of movement, or any option,' she said, despite him using a weekend interview with the Sunday Times to roll the pitch for it.

'He is saying that it's time for us to discuss what kind of long-term relationship with Europe is best for Britain and he is referring to the types of areas that that agreement and long-term future could cover.'

Later, Reform leader Nigel Farage accused the PM of betraying Brexit voters, including those who backed him in the Makerfield by-election that returned him to Westminster earlier this year.

At an event in Westminster Mr Farage said arguments in favour of freedom of movement were based on ‘out-of-date ideas that have all been knocked down', adding: 'The period of mass migration gave us vastly reduced levels of productivity, massively depressed wages of British people in Britain, put up the cost of rent, put up the presser on the NHS and frankly as we have learned, mass migration of low or unskilled labour makes Britain poorer.' 

He went on: 'I would say to the PM as the Brussels summit gets ever closer, that he has no mandate whatsoever to agree anything in that summit.

'It would not only be a betrayal of the greatest democratic exercise in the history of this country but also a betrayal of what he promised the voters of Makerfield just a few short months ago.'

The Prime Minister this morning ruled out making the seismic change in this parliament – which is due to end in July 2029 at the latest. 

But he pointedly refused to rule it out after an election if Labour retains power, setting up a potentially blockbuster election when it happens.

Mr Burnham again dampened speculation there would be a snap election, saying he did not expect to go to the country 'any time soon'.

But when it does happen it is shaping up to be a major moment for the country, with Mr Burnham pinning a shopping list of huge changes on keeping his job. 

Mr Burnham told ITV's Good Morning Britain he wants to see Britain rejoin the EU 'in [his] lifetime', but claimed he would not 'move ahead of the public'.  

'We have a decade of experience now looking back at Brexit. I don't think it has played out as people said it would at the time. We got a harder Brexit. It has weakened our economy.

'I am not proposing rejoining in this Parliament. I said we wouldn't re-run the referendum. That's not what I'm doing. The British public will be the bosses here.

'I don't think things have worked out as they said they would at the time, particularly when it comes to immigration.'

But Tory Alex Burghart, the shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: 'The Prime Minister's latest remarks are further proof that he has completely abandoned the people of Makerfield. He is devoid of any ideas for how to take this country forward.

'Rejoining the European Union will not cut the ballooning welfare bill, reduce government borrowing, fund our armed forces or help control immigration. The Prime Minister cannot keep looking backwards.'

It came amid reports Eurosceptic ministers will be told to back rejoining, with freedom of movement, if that is what Mr Burnham decides to do, or lose their jobs.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood are among those who cautioned against a return to the bloc, with Ms Nandy saying in May that it was 'a world away' from what the public wants.

'Essentially that is saying to people in towns like mine in Wigan that we just need to go back to 2015 when everything was fine,' she told ITV News at the time.

'Everything was not fine then. We've got serious action that we need to take as a country to make sure that the economy, housing, public services work for people in a way that they haven't done for a really long time.'

But yesterday, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner told BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: 'I want to see the best deal for the people of my constituency and for Britain.

'We haven't got the best deal at the moment because we've seen exports reduced by 20 per cent, we've seen the red tape and the friction that has meant that a lot of our businesses are not able to trade in the way that they would like with our biggest trading partners.

'So, I would like us to have an honest conversation about what the trade-offs could be and then put that to the people at a general election.'

On re-adopting free movement rules, Mr Burnham told the Sunday Times that the nature of immigration into the UK had been 'different' since Brexit – with more foreigners moving permanently rather than returning to their home countries.

Reports today also suggest Mr Burnham will expect ministers previously critical of rejoining the EU to back doing so if he decides it is in the country's best interests, even if it also includes freedom of movement.

The Prime Minister wants to consider various options for a new relationship with Brussels, potentially including a return to full EU membership or joining the single market – which would require free movement.

Mr Burnham will meet EU chiefs including European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on November 20 as he seeks to strike a better deal with the bloc.

But he also wants a discussion about the long-term future of the UK-EU relationship, ten years after the country voted for Brexit.