Labour welcomes European Court of Justice ruling on 'benefit tourism'

Shadow Home Office Minister David Hanson says the European Court of Justice ruling on so-called "benefit tourism" sends an "important signal".

He told ITV News it meant in future people wouldn't be able to come to Britain "just to claim benefits".

Despite that, he suggested the judgement would not help the Prime Minister meet his immigration pledge of getting net migration down to the tens of thousands.

Read: ECJ rules benefits can be denied to jobless migrants

The case involved a Romanian woman and her son who had been denied access to certain benefits in Germany.

The ECJ ruled that EU countries must be allowed to refuse to grant some benefits to "economically inactive citizens who exercise their right to freedom of movement solely in order to obtain another member state's social assistance".

Earlier the Prime Minister's spokesman said the ruling showed "freedom of movement is not an unqualified right".

Read more: European court rules benefits can be denied to jobless migrants