Emigrants come and go as jobs dry up

London : Emigration from recession-hit Britain reached a record level last year.

But the number of foreigners living here still increased by 700 each day, new figures show.

Some 427,000 people left the UK, up from 341,000 in 2007. They included 172,000 Britons starting a new life in countries such as Australia, Spain and France.

But statisticians said the bulk of the rise was due to tens of thousands of foreign workers returning home as jobs dried up.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the number of non-Britons leaving the country leapt by 50 per cent from 169,000 to 255,000. Many were Poles who arrived after the expansion of the European Union in 2004.

The total number of Eastern Europeans leaving the UK more than doubled from 25,000 to 69,000 between 2007 and 2008.

Extended stay

At the same time 505,000 foreign nationals — or 1,380 every day — arrived for an extended stay of 12 months or more. This easily outstripped the number leaving and meant that the number of foreigners living in the UK went up by 251,000 or 700 every day.

Overall net immigration — the number of arrivals minus the number of departures, regardless of nationality — was 163,000, 70,000 down on 2007.

Home Office Minister Phil Woolas said the figures showed immigrants were coming here to work and then returning home. He claimed the Government's new points-based work permit system was taking effect.

But critics said the fall in net immigration was almost entirely due to many more Eastern Europeans going home than arriving — and the Government has no control over people from most of the newer EU members.

They also warned that, on recent figures, the UK's population would still reach 70 million within 20 years.

— Daily Mail