BRITAIN’S 1.5 MILLION HIDDEN MIGRANTS
Quitting the EU is only way to control border
ABOUT 1.5 million more EU migrants have come to Britain over the past five years than the Government previously admitted, a bombshell report suggested yesterday. The study by the Office for National Statistics showed that the number of “short-term” migrants has been substantially under-estimated.
Quitting the EU is the only way to control the problem, a senior Tory
warned last night. Employment Minister Priti Patel said: “These figures, which had to be dragged out of the Government, show the scale and impact of immigration from the EU is even higher than previously admitted.
“It is out of control – and cannot be controlled as long as we stay in the EU.
“This puts huge strains on the NHS, housing, schools and other public services. Short-term migration is highly significant and arguably most damaging in terms of wages and work conditions. The only way we can take back control and deliver on our manifesto commitment to reduce migration is to Vote Leave on June 23.”
The ONS launched its investigation following concern that the number of migrants registering for National Insurance was far higher than the number shown to be arriving by official migration statistics.
Its report showed the true number of arrivals from other EU countries was 2.4 million between 2011 and 2015 once those intending to stay for less than a year were taken into account. That compared with a total of only 900,000 identified in migration statistics.
The ONS said short-term migration “largely accounted” for the gap.
The report is expected to give a fresh boost to the campaign for Britain to quit the EU.
Senior Tory Boris Johnson, a leading campaigner for a UK exit, said: “What it shows is that large numbers of people are coming, they are getting National Insurance numbers and they are availing themselves of services which are under huge pressure at the moment.” Ukip MEP and migration spokesman Steven Woolfe said: “It is a disgrace that the Government has tried to hide the true scale of EU immigration.
“Today’s figures reinforce the fact that, whether migrants leave within 12 months of entering the UK or stay for the longer term, as a member of the EU we have no control over our borders.”
He added: “Mass migration on this scale is placing untold pressure on our public services. Whether migrants stay for 12 months or 12 years they still use our NHS, our schools and need housing. With hospitals struggling to cope with the strain, a critical shortage of primary school places and a worsening housing crisis, we need to have the ability to control the overall numbers.” Other critics of the Govern-
ment’s migration policies said the report had still not uncovered the whole truth about the annual influx.
Alp Mehmet, vice chairman of the pressure group Migration Watch, said: “What matters is the increase in the European-born population in Britain which is not consistent with the immigration figures.
“This ONS report has not addressed that question. It agrees with our earlier analysis which noted that shortterm migration accounts for much of the difference between National Insurance numbers and the immigration figures, but not for all of it.
“We still have no explanation for the increase in the Eastern European population of 90,000 a year over the last four years, when the net migration figures showed only 40,000.
“We stand by our estimate that EU migration may have been undercounted by as much as 50,000 a year.”
Stay
The Government has been under pressure for months to explain the discrepancy between the number of National Insurance numbers handed out and the figures for new arrivals.
In the year to September, just under 655,000 NI numbers, which are needed to work in the UK, were registered to EU citizens. Over the same period, the main immigration figures indicate 257,000 people arrived from the EU.
The ONS report said: “Short-term migration to the UK largely accounts for the recent differences between the number of long-term migrants... and the number of National Insurance number registrations for EU citizens.”
It said research showed many who register for a National Insurance number stay for less than a year.
Glen Watson, deputy national statistician for population and public policy at the ONS, said: “We are confident the International Passenger Survey remains the best available way of measuring long-term migration to the UK. National Insurance number registrations are not a good indicator of long-term migration. This research shows that many people who register for National Insurance stay in the UK for less than a year, which is the minimum stay for a long-term migrant according to the internationally recognised definition.
“National Insurance number registrations do, however, provide a valuable source of information to highlight emerging trends. The number of shortterm migrants coming to the UK to work or study has been rising recently, but you need to consider the shortterm migrants leaving these shores as well to get the full picture.”
The statistics show short-term migration by EU citizens is on the rise. A total of 251,000 migrants are thought to have come to the UK for up to 12 months during the year ending June 2014 – five per cent up on 2013 and 35 per cent up on 2012.
The Government insisted the report was a “clear endorsement” of the validity of migration figures. A spokesman said: “Despite recent questions about the figures the ONS have now put this issue beyond doubt.”
Short-term migrants have never been included in the long-term migration statistics, which are governed by United Nations definitions, the spokesman added.
ANALYSIS of national insurance numbers has revealed that in the past five years 2.4 million EU migrants have come to this country. This is a far cry from the 900,000 previously claimed.
The Office for National Statistics says the discrepancy has arisen because a large number of short-term migrants have applied for national insurance numbers. But why on earth would they do that? Who would go to the hassle of registering their presence here with the Government only to get straight back on a plane and head home?
A more plausible explanation would be that the Government, aware of its own impotence in the face of EU rules, tried to play down immigration by choosing dubious passenger surveys as the basis for its official statistics.
And even if the ONS explanation is legitimate, such a quantity of migrants places a massive burden on public services no matter how long they happen to be here. Moreover, armed with national insurance numbers they have the right to work in this country. Those who choose to do so are still putting Britons out of jobs and helping to drive down wages.
The arrival of almost two-and-a-half million people represents a dangerous rate of population change for an island that is home to fewer than 70 million. Yet immigration is still running out of control and it will continue to do so until we leave the EU.