Immigration hits new high

Updated 10.46 Tue May 20 2008

Keywords: britain, Independent Asylum Commission, citizenship, asylum, Immigration

Government data has revealed the number of people granted British citizenship has reached record levels.

Last year, 164,635 foreign nationals became British, up seven per cent on the previous 12 months.

164,635 foreign nationals became British last year

Separate figures showed there was a 16 per cent rise in asylum applications in the first three months of this year, to 6,595, compared with the same period in 2007.

The number of failed asylum-seekers deported from January to March was down 13 per cent to 2,805, while the total number of people removed - including other categories of people such as foreign criminals - was up 12 per cent to 16,760.

Meanwhile a new report by the Independent Asylum Commission has recommended the word "asylum" should be phased out in relation to foreigners seeking safe haven in Britain and replaced with "sanctuary".

A poll found that only 28 per cent of people viewed "asylum" positively, and 33 per cent viewed it negatively.

In comparison, more than 81 per cent thought "sanctuary" had positive connotations.