Migrants from the European Union who arrive in the UK without a job are to be denied housing benefit from April, the government has announced.

Additionally, migrants will only be able to claim unemployment benefit for six months unless they have a "genuine" possibility of getting into work.

The government has said the moves are designed to stop the welfare system being exploited.

In a joint article for the Daily Mail, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith and Home Secretary Theresa May wrote: "No longer can people come here from abroad and expect to get something for nothing.

"For those migrants who do come here, we're ensuring they are unable to take unfair advantage of our system by accessing benefits as soon as they arrive."

A policy banning migrants from claiming jobseeker's allowance for the first three months after their arrival in the UK has been in place since the start of the year.

Though it has claimed it needs to see more details about the policy, Labour has said it is "supportive" of the moves.