UK removes fewer illegal migrants

About 60,000 migrants from outside the EU were found in the UK illegally last year
About 60,000 migrants from outside the EU were found in the UK illegally last year
OLI SCARFF/GETTY IMAGES

The number of illegal immigrants removed from the UK after being told to leave has fallen by more than a fifth in three years, official figures showed.

People from outside the EU who left the UK after being told to by the Home Office are at their lowest level in eight years. Almost 36,500 non-EU citizens unlawfully in the UK were returned to their original countries last year, down from 47,205 three years previously.

Figures from Eurostat, the EU statistics authority, showed that about 60,000 migrants from outside the EU were found illegally in the UK last year, about 10,000 fewer than the previous year. It said that they were ordered to leave and 36,500 did so.

Indian citizens were the top of the list