by Britain has more illegal migrants than any other European nation, according to a new study.
There are up to 745,000 illegal migrants in the UK, representing one in 100 of the population, according to research led by Oxford University experts.
This is more than double the 300,000 in France and even ahead of the upper estimate of 700,000 in Germany, which has the second largest population of illegal migrants in Europe.
The figures were revealed as the Home Office said 973 migrants in 17 small boats crossed the English Channel on Saturday, the largest daily number this year.
The total number of people crossing in 2024 is 26,612, a five per cent increase on 2023 at the same stage, but 21 per cent behind the record 33,611 at this point in 2022.
French authorities have confirmed that four people died while trying to cross the English Channel on Saturday, including a two-year-old boy who was “worked to death” in a boat.
Seniors have demanded that Sir Keir Starmer reconsider Labour’s approach after the Prime Minister scrapped a scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing.
The Government is under great pressure to tackle the people smuggling gangs responsible for the crisis, and to tackle the crime committed by migrants in Britain. The Telegraph revealed last week that one in every 50 Scots in the UK is in prison.
James Cleverly, the shadow home secretary, said: “We need to discourage people from coming here illegally and root them out of our economy while they are here.”
Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister, who called for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), said: “This is the highest number of people crossing the English Channel in one day since recent years. Sir Keir must carry out his so-called dangerous ‘plan’ on small boats. The security of our country is at risk.”
The up to 745,000 people believed to have come to Britain illegally include foreigners who have overstayed their visas, failed asylum seekers who have disappeared and some migrants who have crossed the Channel in small boats.
Labor has pledged to crack down on people-smuggling gangs by setting up a Border Security Command to work with European and G7 partners and handing new counter-terrorism powers to UK law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
Sir Keir rejected calls to quit the ECHR to help tackle the crisis, and at the weekend French and European sources told the Telegraph that Britain would not get an EU deal to send back Channel migrants to to France if she remained in the European Human Court. Rights.
Illegal migrants would fill the size of the city of Leeds
A Home Office source said: “Far from easing the response, this new Government has increased the returns of people living here illegally and a new Border Security Command has been established to relentlessly pursue them. on the criminal smuggling gangs making millions from small boat crossings, which undermined our border. endangering security and life. We are dealing with the chaos of the last Government’s approach.
“Tory leadership candidates are clinging to the Rwanda partnership, which spent £700m to send four volunteers. Maybe it’s time they learn from their mistakes, rather than just doubling down.”
The research – published on Monday and compiled by 18 institutions including Oxford University’s Compass center – estimated the number of illegal migrants in the UK at between 594,000 and 745,000, ahead of Germany (up to 700,000), France (300,000), Italy (458,000) and Spain (469,000).
The top estimates for Germany and the UK accounted for a quarter of all illegal migrants in the 12 EU nations covered by the research.
The Home Office does not publish data on the number of illegal migrants in the UK other than those crossing the English Channel. Most of these, however, are not included in the Oxford research because they seek asylum when they arrive.
The 745,000 illegal migrants – the equivalent of a city the size of Leeds – come on top of a total backlog of 224,742 asylum seekers who are awaiting a decision on their claim or are appealing against it.
Experts have suggested that the size of the UK’s illegal migrant population may reflect its black economy more than other countries, with the Government’s reluctance to grant merits unlike other nations and “hostile environment” policies encouraging migrants to stay away from public services.
Although the Home Office does not publish the data, internal Home Office estimates leaked five years ago suggested that at least 150,000 foreign nationals entered the UK illegally each year and then disappeared into the black economy.
The Oxford researchers said they did not believe the overall number had increased in recent years but said the Government should follow the example of countries such as the US and Italy, which aim to estimate the size of their illegal migrant population and to record.
The research will form the basis of a new public database which will bring together and assess the latest estimates of the number of illegal migrants living in European countries and North America.
Denis Kierans, senior researcher at the Compas Oxford migration center, said it was important for policymakers to know the scale because “these are people who live and work in the UK, but are operating outside the tax system and mainstream benefit. What this means is that the state is missing out on what they contribute to the public purse and they are on the fringes of society at risk of exploitation and poverty”.
