FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday attacked the Home Office’s “morally bankrupt” blueprint for Britain’s first post-Brexit immigration system as the controversy over a leaked UK Government document intensified.

The 82-page confidential government paper, obtained by The Guardian and published late on Tuesday night, suggests the Home Office want to end the free movement of labour immediately after Brexit, and make it more difficult for EU citizens to get in.

There was outcry from political opponents – but not from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn – and from some business groups worried about the plans’ effect on the economy.

Nicola Sturgeon said the Tories had “lost the plot’’ and that the plans would be devastating for Scotland and would tear families apart.

“The proposals in this paper are morally bankrupt, they seem to ignore the fact we’re dealing with human beings. These proposals would lead to family break up in some cases,” she said.

“But secondly they would be devastating for the Scottish economy. We need to be able to attract the best and the brightest from around the world to Scotland, we’ve got a demographic challenge we must meet if we are to continue to grow our economy.

“So these proposals are dreadful and I think they are just a sign of the fact that this UK Government has completely lost the plot and completely lost sight of what they should be doing to secure a brighter future for the country.”

Critics described it as a staunchly British nationalist report, and Brexit minister David Davis will be expected to defend it when he opens the debate on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill in the Commons today.

At Prime Minister’s Question Time yesterday Theresa May defended the principle of cutting immigration. ‘‘What people want to see is control of immigration,’’ she said.

The leaked document is a draft version of a White Paper yet to be agreed by ministers, and suggests the Government will take a more selective approach on who can come into the country, instead of “leaving this decision entirely to those wishing to come here and employers.”

This could involve requiring EU nationals to seek permission before taking up a job, and making employers show that they’ve tried to recruit locally first.

People with lower-skilled occupations may not be allowed into the UK, the document suggests unless it can be proved there’s a shortage of suitable work.

And then if they get here, the document says, they won’t be allowed to stay as long, and probably won’t be able to come with their family.

The Guardian quoted the report as saying: “Put plainly, this means that, to be considered valuable to the country as a whole, immigration should benefit not just the migrants themselves but also make existing residents better off.”

The government has said they don’t comment on leaked document’s and they they will listen to the results of the Migration Advisory Committee’s year-long study into the impact of migration.

Business baulked at the proposals.

Late yesterday afternoon it emerged the Government had been approaching the bosses of FTSE100 companies asking them to sign a letter saying they supported Theresa May’s Brexit negotiations so far. Seemingly Downing Street were finding it difficult to get many of the country’s leading companies to sign up.

“There’s no way we could sign this given current state of chaos surrounding talks,” one boss told Sky News.

The Food and Drink Federation, who last week told Holyrood there simply weren’t enough people locally to fill the available jobs, said the Home Office proposals showed a “deep lack of understanding” of the contribution made by EU workers.

The British Hospitality Association said: “If these proposals are implemented it could be catastrophic for the UK hospitality industry and for those who enjoy the hospitality it brings.”

The National Farmers’ Union claimed the “entire food supply chain” could be at risk.

NFU deputy president Minette Batters said: “We are calling for an urgent and clear commitment from government to ensure that farmers and growers have access to sufficient numbers of permanent and seasonal workers post-Brexit.

“And we need clarity on the new rules for EU nationals living and working in the UK well before free movement ends in March 2019.”

Green co-party leader Caroline Lucas said the plans were ‘‘economically illiterate and a profound mistake’’.

She write in an article yesterday: ‘‘The Britain First language isn’t just jingoistic .. it’s patently untrue. Unless putting us first somehow involves sacrificing our economy on the altar of ending free movement.’’ And Mayor of London Sadiq Khan criticised the document, calling it “an example of an extreme hard Brexit and a blueprint for strangling the London economy”.

A European Commission said they “don’t comment on leaks”.

The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford hit out yesterday at letters threatening deportation which were sent in error to around 100 people. He said: “The Prime Minister must stop dancing to the tune of her right-wing backbenchers. And apologise for the disgraceful treatment her government has shown to migrants in the UK.”

The Commission will publish further position papers on Brexit today. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier, is to unveil the new papers at a Brussels press conference.