Tory rebels to defy David Cameron over Romanian migrants The rebels have been given public support by Kris Hopkins, the local government minister, who has said it is the "democratic right" of MPs to demand that the government defies the European Union. The amendment has been backed by John Whittingdale, chairman of the culture select committee, Bernard Jenkin, the chairman of the Public Administration select committee, and former Tory ministers Bill Wiggin, James Duddridge and Sir Gerald Howarth. Nigel Mills, one of the four MPs who tabled the amendment, said: "There is a great deal of concern in Britain on this issue and the government's manoeuvrings [in delaying the vote] look bad for democracy. At a time when we're trying to make Parliament look better it would have been good to have had that debate instead of running and hiding into the New Year. We will be making our points pretty strongly. Ministers have claimed it is not legally possible to extend the restrictions, but a growing number of Tory MPs believe it is the only realistic way to stop mass migration. The Prime Minister has announced a raft of plans for new curbs on the entitlement of EU migrants to claim benefits in Britain, and called for a review of EU freedom of movement laws. Ministers have also introduced tougher benefit tests, under which migrants whose English is judged so poor that they would struggle to find work in Britain could be denied benefits. However, Mr Mills said the moves were "not enough." He said: "I think fundamentally it won't be enough to tackle the problem. It doesn't tackle housing shortages or the additional burden on the NHS, and people will still be entitled to claim benefits. I take the view that we should keep the restrictnios we have ni place until we have got the legislation properly sorted. By yesterday evening, 72 MPs had signed the amendment and Kris Hopkins, the housing minister, had also given it his support.