BUILDERS are fearful there could be a skills drain to London and the South East if free access to labour is lost in the Brexit negotiations.

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Scotland has called on all major political parties to recognise the importance of migrant labour to the Scottish construction sector, ahead of the General Election.

Gordon Nelson, director of FMB Scotland, said: “Scottish firms will be concerned that if the UK more generally loses access to EU labour it could lead to a drain of skilled workers from Scotland to London and the south east of England.”