In his pod cast on Friday 26 March, the Prime Minister said "Some people talk as if net inward migration is rising. In fact, it is falling - down from 237,000 in 2007, to 163,000 in 2008, to provisional figures of 147,000 last year". The first two figures refer to Long Term Immigration and are correct. The last of these figures is wrong on three counts: - It refers to the International Passenger Survey (IPS) which is only one element in the estimate of migration. These figures are adjusted for asylum seekers, migration from Ireland, those who come as visitors and apply to stay etc. As a result, the statisticians usually add about 38,000 to the annual IPS figure to produce the estimate for immigration. - The first two numbers are for calendar years but the third is a mid year figure up to June 2009. - It is also a cumulative annual total covering the previous 4 quarters so it is different in kind from a calendar year figure, especially if there is seasonal variation. Commenting, Sir Andrew Green Chairman of Migrationwatch said, "The clear intention was to produce a series of figures which looked like a decline even if they were not of the same kind. In fact immigration in 2009 could well be higher than in 2008 although nobody, including the Prime Minster, can yet know. This amounts to fiddling the figures for presentational purposes and is completely unacceptable, especially on such a sensitive subject.” NOTE TO EDITORS: Gordon Brown accused of fiddling immigration figures Pair jailed for Brighton Marina people smuggling scheme Claims of asylum inconsistently examined across European Union - UN Council in Baby P scandal loses 29 asylum children at risk from traffickers It s a conspiracy, says London head teacher facing jail for foreign student con Leaflet is not racist, say Tories Podcast on immigration Bristol arrests over sham marriages THOUSANDS OF PUPILS DON T SPEAK ENGLISH
Press Releases
Prime Minister gets his facts wrong on immigration
A selection of recent media reports
Gordon Brown was last night accused of fiddling immigration figures by claiming that the number of people coming to Britain is falling sharply. The Prime Minister said in a podcast that people who claimed net migration was rising were...
Telegraph.co.uk (26-Mar-2010)
A man who claimed to be a human rights activists has been jailed for six years for smuggling 21 illegal immigrants into Brighton Marina in a 55ft...
BBC News Southern Counties (26-Mar-2010)
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has found that among 12 European Union (EU) nations, there are inconsistencies in the way asylum applications are...
M2 (26-Mar-2010)
Twenty-nine children seeking asylum in Britain have gone missing from the council at the centre of the Baby P scandal in the past three years, it emerged...
Evening Standard (26-Mar-2010)
A college headmistress who is facing jail for conning foreign students into paying for worthless qualifications today claimed she was the victim of a huge conspiracy .
Evening Standard (26-Mar-2010)
THE Tories have hit back at claims that they deliberately airbrushed ethnic minority candidates from campaign leaflets. The Dagenham and Rainham Conservatives came under fire in the national press this week for handing out thousands of leaflets which omitted pictures of non-white candidates - despite...
Romford Recorder (26-Mar-2010)
Transcript of a podcast recorded by the Prime Minister on immigration. Read the transcript Doing the right thing for jobs and for a strong Economy - and ensuring fairness for hard working families - is the central theme of this weeks...
Number 10.gov.uk (26-Mar-2010)
Three people have been arrested on suspicion of taking part in sham marriages to allow illegal immigrants to stay in the UK. Immigration and police officers from the UK Border Agency made the arrests in Bristol and Bath yesterday as part of an investigation into claims that a Jamaican man and woman...
This is Somerset (26-Mar-2010)
TEACHERS have begged for help after revealing 70% of pupils in some schools cannot speak English. The immigration explosion means many children do not have our native tongue as their first...
Daily Star (26-Mar-2010)
Saturday, 27 March 2010
March 27, 2010
NOTES
1. The IPS figure quoted by the Prime Minister can be found here:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/IPS-estimates-of-long-term-international-migration-YE-Jun-09.xls
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