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Press Releases for August 2002
August 6, 2002
Home Office challenged to give their own projections after questioning figures on the scale of migration into the UK
August 2, 2002
Net migration into the UK is now two million every decade and probably more
Full Text of Releases : August 2002
Home Office challenged to give their own projections after questioning figures on the scale of migration into the UK
Following claims that figures on the scale of net inward migration into the
UK from independent think-tank MigrationwatchUK were flawed, the group's Chairman has challenged the Home Office to give their own projections.
'Our figures are based on the Home Offices' own statistics so it is difficult to see where we can be criticised,' said Sir Andrew Green, who heads the non-political group. 'But if, as reported in some of today's newspapers, they disagree with our numbers and the methodology behind them they should say precisely why.
'In doing so we would expect them to apply the same level of transparency and provide the same level of detail as we have, supported by the sources from which they are drawn, so that they can be examined as rigorously as ours have been,' he said.
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Net migration into the UK is now two million every decade and probably more
With the number of migrants into the UK now running at two million every decade a leading migration think-tank has urged the Government to act with much greater urgency and resolution to tackle the chaos in the system and to restore public confidence. Net inward migration is now running at double the rate of a decade ago and the trend is relentlessly upwards.
'Our latest analysis of all the available figures shows that, even using very cautious estimates for illegal immigration we are approaching a quarter of a million migrants a year for the first time in our history,' said Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of MigrationwatchUK, an independent, non political organisation which monitors migration.
'That means that a population the size of the city of Cambridge being added every six months or a population the size of Birmingham every five years.
On present patterns, two thirds will settle in London and the South-east.
'The very positive response to the launch of MigrationwatchUK is evidence of widespread public concern over the chaos in the immigration system, exacerbated by the perception that the government lacks the will to deal with it effectively,' he said.
Sir Andrew said MigrationwatchUK wholeheartedly supported Britain's record as a safe haven for genuine refugees but only about 5% of immigrants are those who have qualified as refugees. Some 50-60,000 a year are refused yet only 11,500 are removed. This destroys the credibility of the system and makes it more difficult for those with a genuine right to stay to be welcomed and accepted.
'Furthermore, the failure since the mid 90s, to record the departure
of non
EU citizens is a major weakness in our immigration system. Indeed,
it is almost an invitation to overstay. Against this background
it is a cause of real concern that the government should have announced
a huge increase in the issue of work permits with no effective safeguards
against abuse of the system,' he said.
'Continued failure to get a grip of this situation will play into
the hands of the far right who seek to exploit the situation for
their own ends and to whom we are totally opposed.
'Immigration at this rate will have a profound effect on the nature
and shape
of our society for decades to come. It is therefore essential that
this subject be brought out of the closet so that there can be an
open debate based on the facts. At MigrationwatchUK we intend to
provide the facts in their proper context and contribute to the
debate,' said Sir Andrew.
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