Boris Johnson today warned British business it must stop 'mainlining' immigration as the UK quits the EU.

The Foreign Secretary said he was in favour of skilled foreign workers coming to the UK but said the Brexit vote was about 'control' over numbers to ensure British youngsters had a fair chance of work.

Mr Johnson said unlimited immigration from Europe for the past 25 years had left firms addicted to cheap labour from abroad.

Amid a growing row over when the Government should officially start the Brexit negotiations, Mr Johnson also said the process should be underway by May.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson today warned British business had to stop 'mainlining' immigration instead of investing in British workers

Any later and voters will be faced with electing a new group of MEPs in 2019 because Britain could still be a member of the EU.

Mr Johnson told the BBC's Andrew Marr: 'I want skilled and talented people to come to the UK if they want to fulfill their dreams in our country - I have no problem with that provided we have control.

'In the last figures we had, 333,000 people came net from around the world. That's a huge sum, 175,000 net from the EU, in an uncontrolled way.

'Most people in our country would say that is too high.'

He added: 'We have got to invest in our own young people, we have also got to build up the skills of this country.

'For 25 years UK business and industry have been mainlining immigration like a kind of drug without actually investing enough or caring enough about the skills and the training of young people in our country.'

Mr Johnson was slapped down this week by No 10 after insisting Article 50 - which sets out the rules for countries quitting the EU - should be invoked early in the new year.

Mrs May insisted the decision on timing would be hers and has repeatedly told EU officials Britain will not be rushed as it prepares for the two year negotiation period that will follow Article 50.

Interviewed by the BBC's Andrew Marr, Mr Johnson also said the Brexit negotiations should be underway before May to ensure voters are not forced to elect a new cohort of MEPs in 2019

Critics, led by former chancellor George Osborne, have urged Mrs May to delay until after French and German elections next year.

Mr Johnson today insisted the process would not be allowed to 'drag on'.

He said: 'The opportunity is to do a deal that would be very much in the interests not only of the UK but also for our friends and partners in the EU.

'What I am finding interesting talking to other countries is they are starting to see the opportunities from Brexit.'

Pressed again on timing, after former chancellor George Osborne called for a delay to the end of 2017, Mr Johnson said: 'If you think about it there are obviously euro elections coming down the track.

'I think people will be wondering if we want to send a fresh batch of UK Euro MPs to an institution we are going to be leaving.

'So let's get on with it, we are not going to let it drag on as the PM has rightly said.'

Theresa May has insisted Britain will not rush into invoking Article 50 of the EU treaties and made her position clear in talks this week with European Parliament president Martin Schulz, pictured

The Vote Leave champion refused to be drawn in the interview whether he had 'forgiven' or even spoken to Michael Gove, his former ally, since the Brexit aftermath.

Mr Gove was due to run Mr Johnson's leadership bid to succeed David Cameron at No 10 but stunned Westminster by dumping his colleague and making his own bid for power.

Mr Johnson refused to answer a series of questions on his relationship with Mr Gove but said: 'I am very, very happy to be doing the job I am doing.

'People want us to get on and deliver the agenda Theresa May and the new government have set out.'

Pressed again, Mr Johnson insisted: 'People, if I may say so, are probably more interested in the tragic plight of people in Aleppo than the microcosmographia of the Tory party infighting'.

Mr Johnson refused to comment on his relationship with Michael Gove, his former Vote Leave colleague who detonated his hopes for No 10 in the aftermath of the referendum

In another shot across Mrs May’s bows, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox will suggest in a speech tomorrow that Britain should leave the single market entirely.

The prominent Brexiteer’s comments will come despite the fact the Government has not yet revealed whether it believes the UK should retain access to the market.

He will tell the World Trade Organisation that the UK should take its place as a full independent member, able to negotiate its own deals outside the EU.

At present, Britain is unable to strike free trade agreements with other nations because it is part of the EU’s ‘customs union’, which imposes common tariffs across the bloc.