Another week, another rant

Another week, another letter from Joe Egerton. This week, he claims for the third time that I said that two thirds of students stay on after their studies illegally. On the previous two occasions he justified this claim on the basis of a reference to a parliamentary question of mine which he has misunderstood. The minister who replied agreed with me.

The fact is that International Passenger Survey estimates that around two thirds of students stay on after their studies. (While the majority do so for legitimate reasons, that statistic does – in my view - explain why they need to be included in immigration figures).

Mr Egerton also attacks my concerns about anti-conservative bias in the universities. Had he listened to the Today Programme and read Gerry Warren’s excellent article properly, he would know that it was students themselves who raised their concerns, first on the BBC and then to Gerry Warren. I quoted a statistic from a source he does not approve of but also testimony from students - and academics – who have raised harrowing concerns with me.

Sadly, Mr Egerton seems unable to move on from the EU Referendum. Almost every week you publish another rant from him on the subject. If he wishes to see all these issues – from immigration to academic bias – in a prism determined by that vote, he is welcome to do so. But he might reflect over the Christmas period that the Archbishop of Canterbury has called for respect to be shown on both sides of the debate. Julian Brazier, Garlinge Green, Petham