EU immigration figures may have been under-counted by half a MILLION since 2004, report claims
Migration Watch says figures show a 2.21 million rise from 2005 to 2017 compared to official figures from the Office for National Statistics which suggests EU net migration rose by 1.7million
IMMIGRATION from the European Union may have been under-counted by half a million since 2004 – a think tank claims today.
Migration Watch urged Theresa May to stand by her “red lines” as it claimed a huge discrepancy between official figures collated by the Office for National Statistics.
It said population figures show a 2.21 million increase in the number of EU born citizens living in the UK between 2005 and 2017.
But official immigration figures – based on thousands of surveys at airports and docks – suggest EU net migration rose by 1.7 million from 2004 to 2016.
Migration Watch co-chair Alp Mehmet said the difference equated to 508,000 –equivalent to a city the size of Sheffield.
He said: “Our paper suggests that Brexit could be an even more effective means of reducing immigration than previously thought.
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“This underlines the importance of taking a firm line, so far absent, on lower skilled migration from the EU.”
The paper comes as the ONS prepares to release delayed quarterly immigration figures on Monday. Figures in February revealed net migration in the year to September 2017 was 244,000 – more than double the Government’s target of the “tens of thousands”.
Theresa May enraged Brexit-backing MPs last week by indicating EU workers could be granted visa-free access to the UK after Brexit.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid last week signalled the UK’s exact post-Brexit immigration policy would be subject to the outcome of trade negotiations with the EU this summer – sparking fears the Government could grant Brussels preferential status.
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