Office of National Statistics under fire for publishing 'sinister'
figures on immigration
By James Chapman
Last updated at 8:08 PM on 03rd March 2009
Britain's independent statistics watchdog has come under unprecedented
attack from a Government minister who claimed it had a 'sinister'
attitude to immigration.
Immigration Minister Phil Woolas questioned the motives of the Office of
National Statistics in publishing figures showing that one in nine UK
residents was born abroad, in what critics said amounted to an
accusation of racism.
Mr Woolas revealed he had tried to prevent the watchdog highlighting the
data and accused it of 'playing politics'.
'The justification from the ONS who... highlighted the figure because it
was "topical" is, at best, naive or, at worst, sinister,' he said.
Ministers appear to have decided to go to war with the ONS and its chief
statistician Karen Dunnell after a series of rows over official data.
But the strength of Mr Woolas's broadside is likely to trigger a fierce
backlash from MPs who say the body must be able to collect information
and provide impartial analysis free from interference from Government.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said: 'The way Ministers are
behaving over both crime and immigration figures is little short of a
disgrace.
'When they can, they manipulate the figures for their own political
purposes and when they can't they launch hysterical rants at the
independent statistics office. It's just not good enough.'
Sir Andrew Green, head of the MigrationWatch think tank, said: 'It's
extremely unfortunate if a Minister gives an impression of bullying the
official statisticians for doing no more than setting out the facts,
however inconvenient they may be for the Government of the day.
'To imply that there is some sinister motive in simply telling the truth
is astonishing.
Ministers were said to be 'fizzing' with anger last month after the ONS
published figures showing the growing numbers of immigrants getting jobs
while the British workforce declines.
It revealed that the number of foreign workers increased by 175,000 to
2.4 million last year while the number of British workers fell by
234,000 to 27 million.
Labour sources suggested the timing of the release was a political act
designed to embarrass Gordon Brown over his controversial 'British jobs
for British workers' slogan.
It came as construction workers took part in wildcat strikes at power
stations in Nottinghamshire and Kent, angry about jobs going to
foreigners.
Then last week, the ONS published statistics showing foreign-born people
make up one in nine of the population of the UK as a whole.
In a letter to Sunder Katwala, head of the left-wing Fabian Society, Mr
Woolas protested that most people believed it was the Government who had
released the data.
'In fact, it was the ONS with no Ministerial involvement and indeed
despite my objections,' he added.
'What's worse is that the press release which ran to nine pages
highlighted the 1 in 9 figure as the main finding.
'So, Government gets the blame by some for whipping up anti-foreign
sentiment when it is the independent ONS who are playing politics.
'The justification from the ONS who had, out of schedule, highlighted
the figure two weeks earlier because it was “topical” is, at best, naive
or, at worst, sinister.'
Mr Woolas insisted the fact that one in nine people who are in Britain
were born overseas was 'neither new nor informative'
He said it included around 370,000 undergraduates who will not stay in
this country and around a quarter of a million children born to British
armed forces personnel serving overseas.
He added that there were times in Britain's history when the numbers of
residents born overseas was higher than one in nine, with the figure
estimated as high as one in three at the time of the Huguenot migration.
Today the Minister was unrepentant about his attack, insisting: 'The ONS
need to be aware that they are entering into shark-infested waters.
'It's not the role of the ONS to dictate the debate. Of course we want
objective figures, but the statisticians need to realise that this is a
highly politically charged debate.
'These figures were not scheduled to be released when they were and the
ONS said they were bringing them forward because it was topical.
'Well, what's topical to one person is highly political to another.'
A spokesman for the ONS said: 'We will not be responding to this
letter.'
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Tuesday, 3 March 2009
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