Immigration, secrecy and our right to know

HOW many migrants from EU countries have come to live and work in Britain in recent years? It’s a question of huge importance to which the public has every right to know the answer before deciding how to vote in the referendum.

So why is the Government treating it like a state secret?

Since 2011, the Department for Work and Pensions has issued 1.9million National Insurance numbers to EU nationals. But the official total of EU migrants who settled here in the same period – as published by the Office for National Statistics – is just 751,000.

So where are the missing 1.1million? Have they all gone home?

The respected director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, Jonathan Portes, tried to find out by asking under Freedom of Information how many of the original 1.9million numbers were still active – ie showed recent payments of tax or benefits. This would give a definitive total.

Incredibly, the HMRC admits to having the figure but simply refuses to release it, saying it would be ‘unhelpful’ to Mr Cameron’s negotiations for changes in EU law. Doesn’t this suggest they are cynically covering up the true level of migration because they know it would be an influential factor in the referendum? Recent polls show the momentum swinging towards a vote for Brexit and the main reason is a fear about immigration. The surge in net migration – now over 330,000 a year – has put immense strain on housing, school places, hospital beds and other public services and many fear the situation is rapidly getting worse.

The public has an absolute right to be given a full picture of what the future may hold – however worrying that may be.

As for the mandarins, turning down a perfectly legitimate FoI request. They should remember that the truth about the number of people living in this country belongs to us – the voters – not to them. Their arrogance is breathtaking.