Jump in immigrant number since 2001
(UKPA)
Oct 18, 2009
The number of immigrants in the UK has increased by more than two million since 2001, according to a Government-commissioned report.
Consultancy Oxford Economics pointed to surveys that indicated there were now about 6.6 million UK residents who had been born abroad, compared with 4.3 million in 2001.
The figures emerged in a study carried out for the Department of Communities and Local Government, published on its website last month.
Think tank Migrationwatch said it was now “absolutely essential” that the main political parties committed themselves to a “very sharp cut in immigration”.
The Oxford Economics report stated: “Recent evidence indicates that the 2001 figure of 4.3 million foreign-born people in the UK could have grown further by more than two million in the last eight years.”
Just under 11% of current UK residents were born abroad compared to 7.5% in 2001, according to the report.
Migrationwatch chairman Sir Andrew Green said the report had confirmed figures the think tank had predicted seven years ago. He said: “In 2002 we said that: 'Continued failure to get a grip of the 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'.
“It is ironic that this is the week in which the BNP will be represented on Question Time and is an appalling indictment of the way the present Government has handled this sensitive issue.
“Not only have they totally failed to be honest with the British people, but they have treated their legitimate concerns with ill concealed contempt. The success of the BNP can be laid firmly at their door.”
A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said: “The Government has introduced a migration system that is firmly rooted in fairness. New controls on migrants mean that only those whose skills the country needs and no more can come here. This maximises the benefits for Britain and ensures that despite change the playing field remains level for everyone.”
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