Abolishing exit checks means migrant figures are guesswork - Huhne

"Since the Tories and Labour abolished exit checks we have no idea how many people are living in Britain," said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary.

Commenting on a BBC-commissioned report showing that many Eastern European migrants have returned home because of the recession, Chris Huhne said:

“This is a clear indication of how unappealing the recession has made the UK to foreign workers.

“It also shows how awful the Government forecasts on the Eastern European immigration were - 1.3m migrants is 26 times more than ministers predicted.

“Even thorough research like this, however, is based on guesswork. Since the Tories and Labour abolished exit checks we have no idea how many people are living in Britain. These should be reintroduced immediately.”