A
UK campaign group that opposes mass immigration called for tougher
measures yesterday after government figures showed immigrants were
entering Britain at the rate of nearly every minute.
Government
data published last month showed more than 1,500 foreigners, who were
intending to stay for at least a year, arrived in Britain every day
last year. UK's Migrationwatch said the figures were
probably an underestimate — particularly as only 65,000 Eastern
Europeans who arrived here in 2005 were classed as immigrants. It
said immigration from Eastern Europe accounted for just over one in
five foreign immigrants last year — the majority of the others were
from Asia and Africa.
The Office for National
Statistics (ONS) data showed that 565,000 people came to live here for
at least a year during the course of 2005. Meanwhile, more than 1,000
people a day left Britain to live abroad — an estimated 380,000 — half
of whom were British citizens. It means the country's net population rose by 500 a day, or 185,000 during the year.
Sir
Andrew Green, the chairman of Migrationwatch, said: "The Government has
had some success in reducing asylum claims. But as a result of their
'no limits' policy, immigration as a whole has shot up. We now have a
migrant arriving in the UK almost every minute — and these are just the
legal ones we know about."
He added: "The tripling
of net foreign immigration in the past 10 years has largely resulted
from what the Government likes to call 'managed migration' routes, such
as principally work-related migration and family reunion. Firm action
is long overdue to limit immigration from non-EU countries (read Africa and Asia) which are
the main source of this immigration."
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