Net migration to Britain fell to 171,000 last year, new official figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the figure – those coming to live here long-term minus those emigrating – nearly halved from the previous year’s 331,000.
It also said the number of people who came to Britain to claim asylum during the year was 88,000, up slightly on the previous year.
The figures therefore suggest 51 per cent of net migration was made up by asylum seekers.
However, the ONS suggested a better measure was taking asylum as a proportion of total immigration from outside the EU, which put it at 14 per cent.
This is a breaking story. More follows…
