Tough measures on immigration urged

A campaign group which opposes mass immigration has called for tougher measures after government figures showed immigrants are entering the UK at the rate of nearly one a minute.

Government data published last month showed more than 1,500 foreigners, who were intending to stay for at least a year, arrived in the UK every day last year.

Migrationwatch said the figures were probably an underestimate - particularly as only 65,000 Eastern Europeans arriving here in 2005 were classed as immigrants. It said immigration from Eastern Europe accounted for only just over one in five foreign immigrants last year - the vast majority of the others were from Asia and Africa.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data revealed 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 the UK 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.

Migrationwatch chairman Sir Andrew Green 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.”

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Tough measures on immigration urged
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