Net migration to Britain at all-time high

Migrants are helped off a boat in Greece. Picture: Getty

NET migration to Britain is at an all time high, with the difference between people leaving and entering the country estimated at 330,000.

This is 10,000 above the highest figure on record, which was 320,000 for the year ending June 2005, and an increase of more than a third compared to the same period last year.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said the new figures are “deeply disappointing”.

It is the fifth consecutive quarterly rise in the index - raising new questions about the Tories’ aim to bring the number below 100,000.

The increase was driven by a record 269,000 EU citizens arriving in Britain.

Statistics also showed, as expected, that Britain’s foreign-born population has surpassed eight million for the first time.