‘The Prime Minister, in his press conference, completely missed
the point.
Public concern is not just about abuse of the immigration system. It is also about the nature and scale of immigration which is the highest in our history.
In 2002 net non EU immigration was 233,000. Our estimate is that only just over a quarter of these immigrants came with work permits – and this number includes their dependants.Action against bogus colleges and sham marriages is most welcome, if thoroughly overdue. But it is only tinkering round the edges.
Three steps are now essential to restore control of our borders:
? re-instatement of embarkation controls for foreigners;
? the introduction of ID cards;
? and, the establishment of a serious capacity to remove those who have no right to be in Britain
