Wrong to let EU migrants place a strain on schools

IT has been revealed that educating the children of EU migrants is costing the taxpayer £3.2billion a year. This is almost double what it was costing us 10 years ago, a staggering illustration of the devastating impact that mass migration has had on this country.

This money had been earmarked for classroom improvements, textbooks and hiring more staff. As a consequence schoolchildren will have to go without.

And that is not to mention the disruption that has been caused by the need for teachers to provide special help and extra classes for pupils who do not speak English as a first language.

The strain is being felt across our public services.

The NHS is struggling to cope with the demands of caring for huge numbers of migrants and health tourists. And police forces up and down the country have been forced to spend huge sums on translators to help them interview suspects from overseas.

On Thursday analysis of National Insurance numbers revealed that official figures drastically underestimated the number of people coming here. These new statistics merely confirmed what most members of the public and this newspaper have known all along: that the mass influx of European citizens is completely unsustainable.

It would be wrong to condemn our children to a sub-standard education just because the political class is unable or unwilling to stand up to Brussels and demand the return of border controls.

Thankfully the power to do so now rests in our hands. On June 23 we must vote to leave the EU.