Government reveals illegal immigrant figures

There are around 430,000 illegal immigrants living in the UK, the Home Office has reported, although the number could be as high as 570,000.

According to the report, the Home Office estimated that the number of illegal immigrants living in Britain was somewhere between 310,000 and 570,000. The central estimate of 430,000 is the equivalent of 0.7% of the UK population.

The figures do not include asylum seekers whose applications are being processed or who are appealing against a refusal.

Commenting on the figures, Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said the figure was “only an estimate and should not be seen as a definitive figure”. He said: “No government has ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who may be in the country illegally. By its very nature, it is impossible to quantify accurately, and that remains the case.”

Mr McNulty said that the report emphasised the need for a “robust ID card scheme”, which would help tackle illegal working and immigration.

The government’s ID cards bill has proved to be hugely controversial. Although it passed a Commons vote earlier this week, securing a second reading, 20 Labour rebels joined the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in voting against the Bill. Human rights groups, such as Liberty, are also strongly opposed to the introduction of the cards.

Shadow home Secretary David Davis said that the report was “a shocking indictment of the total shambles that is Labour’s Immigration and Asylum policy”. He added: “This report shows unequivocally that the Prime Minister was wrong when he claimed it was impossible to know how many failed illegal immigrants there are in Britain.”

(KMcA)