How many illegal immigrants are there in Britain?

[Chris]

Tony Blair had a tough time with that question on Newsnight just before the election. The Home Office estimates that there are around 500,000 illegal immigrants currently in the UK. Is this an accurate figure? Apparantly last year a Home Office official admitted that immigration could be six times higher than the official figures.

[Ginga]

There will be a lot more if France get their way....after thier riots I think they will gladly strip thier immigrants of their French passports and usher them to the Sangatte camp for export

[Chris]

Did you notice the rioting immediately started to subside when the French government said they would immediately deport any immigrants caught rioting. Says it all really.

[peterw]

I managed to smuggle myself into Lancashire from Yorkshire in 1951, but it was easy then, and I’ve been here for so long that very few people can recognise that I still have, in part, a Yorkshire accent.

Seriously, apart from all the talk about free this, that and the other, an illegal immigrant must constantly struggle to make a decent living if he/she is constantly looking fearfully over one shoulder.

If this is the case, the United Kingdom must be a far better place to come to than anywhere else in Europe.

[bluemooners]

It tells you something that these people have to travel through numerous country's before they reach this soft touch country,these people must be stopped or the BNP will get more support

[peterw]

You miss my point, bluemooners. Illegal immigrants don’t get benefits.

[bluemooners]

No you miss my point,i didn,t mean benefits i meant there is very little done to get rid of these illegal immigrants once they are here,too many company's are willing to employ them with no questions asked which makes there stay easier

[peterw]

I agree with you.

[favposi69]

I know someone who recently worked for the benefits agency. The person told me that Immigrants get £2,000.00 to settle in, and are made priority over people who have lived and paid tax's all their lives in the uk!!
Priority should be given to the elderly and disabled without question!!

[peterw]

Tony Blair had a tough time with that question on Newsnight just before the election. The Home Office estimates that there are around 500,000 illegal immigrants currently in the UK. Is this an accurate figure? Apparantly last year a Home Office official admitted that immigration could be six times higher than the official figures.

How would anyone know? Illegal immigrants are illegal and are therefore not likely to publicise the fact. As a Yorkshireman in Lancashire, I’ve been an illegal immigrant for 55 years but nobody bothers — least of all the Home Office. I keep thinking I might apply to become a naturalised Lancastrian, but if I try I’m worried that John Reid might have me deported.

[TELENY]

By its very nature, the number of illegal immigrants is hard to establish.  Anything coming out of the Home Office is only an informed guess and we don't progress the debate beyong that point.
We should address those areas of industry which are crying out for skilled labour, the numbers of nurses/doctors our NHS has managed to lure to the UK from many poor developing nations that need them and the yawning gap between the number of taxpayers and the proportion of the population entering retirement. 

Ultimately, without Britains partner EU states, we cannot hope to stem the tide of (mostly) young african/middle eastern men attempting to get into Europe and make a new life.

[celeste]

perhaps this will become a greater issue come election time,  have the various parties answered these  questions  already?

[TELENY]

The world will really be turned upside down for me the day our political establishment start to address issues THAT REALLY MATTER!!

At the moment, much of the pressure in terms of immigration is focussed on the the new accession countries into the EU . . . Poland/Baltics etc.  This situation will not be eased by the entry of Romania, for example, in a few months time. 

Here's the dilemma celeste - how to we balance the benefit of a much-needed injection into our labour market, (remember a Polish labourer still has to pay taxes in the UK), with the pressure on social services . . . NHS/housing, etc.   

As far as the NHS is concerned, can you imagine it without all those foreign doctors/nurses?

Here's a stat that I came across recently:  there are more Malawian doctors working in the NHS in Manchester than the whole of Malawi   

[celeste]

do they have to be able to speak English adequately before they work in places like hospitals, it could be a risk if otherwise?

[village_idiot]

I look at it this way
If i am classed as an immigrant in the country that i now live
The question that i ask is why do i have to pay taxes for those immigrants that dont workWhy?
If i am a anglo saxon and i see all this immigration happening what if anything can i do about it
I am not talking about anything racial here i am just asking a question as to who said they can all come here and why did they not ask me ?/???
good health to yas all
Village _idiot