The ONS press releaseheadlines record emigration without mentioning record immigration.
In fact, their figures also show record foreign immigration of over half a million in 2006 with less than one fifth coming from the new Eastern European members of the EU. British emigration is also a record at 126,000, having doubled since 1997.
Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migrationwatch said: ‘These latest figures show that two thirds of yet another record level of arrivals come from outside the EU and therefore could and should be subject to much tighter controls.
‘This gives the lie to claims that nothing effective can be done about immigration because of our membership of the EU.’
The figures also confirm the government’s latest population projections for the UK of an extra 10 million people in the next 25 years.