Quote Originally Posted by WBA123 View Post
We could have deported these people under EU law, when we were in the EU.

It was enshrined in EU treaty that we could deport EU nationals back to their country if they could not financially support themselves. Its the UK Governments fault for not enforcing this law.

So your last sentence was actually true, we could keep wasters out. And this is a good example of the misinformation that Farage and all preyed on.
As ever things are more complicated than they seem when it comes to the EU. Copied this from the Europa.eu site.

Can you be requested to leave or be deported?

You may live in the other EU country as long as you continue to meet the conditions for residence. If you no longer do so, the national authorities may require you to leave.

In exceptional cases, your host country can deport you on grounds of public policy or public security - but only if it can prove you represent a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society.

The deportation decision or the request to leave must be given to you in writing. It must state all the reasons for your deportation and specify how you can appeal and by when.