Pret axes 2,800 jobs as High St suffers again
PRESSURE was mounting on Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday as net migration reached its highest level in four years.
About 312,000 more people moved to the UK than emigrated, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The figure increased by around 92,000 since March last year and is the highest level since March 2016, when net migration was an estimated 326,000.
Over the past year, around 715,000 people moved to the UK and around 403,000 people left the country.
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: “The latest net migration figures from the ONS are shocking, if not surprising.
“The record level of net non-EU migration is an indication of the scale of the problem and what the government needs to control and reduce.” The increase in immigration and net migration was fuelled by an increase in Chinese and Indian students coming to study in the UK, analysts said.
Of those arriving in Britain, 257,000 came for formal study, with 458,000 arriving for work, family or other reasons.
Immigration Minister Kevin Foster said: “These figures demonstrate we are continuing to attract the brightest and best from across the globe.”