Britain’s immigration shambles

The government has been accused of not knowing the true number of illegal immigrants entering Britain. Has the issue got out of hand?

The British government still doesn't know the true scale of immigration. A report by the Public Administration Select Committee has condemned official migration figures, which were based on random interviews of around 800,000 people passing through ports and airports, of whom only around 5,000 are immigrants. The government still used this sample to boast of its progress towards cutting net migration from 252,000 in 2010 to 100,000 by 2015, says Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail.

Yet the worthlessness of its data has far-reaching implications. This research on population plays a key role in developing the "administration of the country". Without it, the government becomes "a shambles". The rise of Ukip has forced the Tories to address the issue, but still they shield their eyes, because "to address the problem properly would mean confronting its root causes", such as Britain's membership of the EU, whose "foundational principle is to allow the free flow of migrants".

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