Mayor backs illegal immigrants move

12 April 2012

Boris Johnson has said an amnesty for illegal immigrants would be "morally right" after research suggested nearly three quarters of a million are living in Britain.

A study by the London School of Economics, conducted for the London Mayor, estimated that the number of "irregular" immigrants and their dependants reached 725,000 in 2007.

Two-thirds are thought to live in the capital.

The figure is higher than in previous Government-commissioned research, which indicated the level could be around 570,000 - although ministers admit they have no accurate information.

Mr Johnson first raised the idea of granting legal status to those who have been in the UK for some time during last year's Mayoral election campaign.

In an interview for BBC's Panorama programme, he said the latest findings demonstrated there had been a "catastrophic failure of the government to control our borders".

He admitted the case for an amnesty was a "hard political argument to win", but insisted there was a need for realism.

"What I am trying to get people to recognise is that there are limits to what the policy to expulsions is able to achieve at the moment," Mr Johnson said. "Failing that, and it is failing, we need to think of a better alternative.

"If people are going to be here and we've chronically failed to kick them out it's morally right that they should contribute in their taxes to the rest of society, as a regularisation of their status would allow."

According to the LSE report, 450,000 people could be regularised if a five year minimum residence qualification was used.

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