Rally demands 500,000 illegal immigrants be allowed to stay

The call was made at a rally in London attended by Labour MPs, church leaders and trade union bosses.

They believe anyone who has been living here illegally for four years – such as failed asylum seekers and visa overstayers – should be given a two-year work permit.

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After that time they would be legally allowed to stay, provided they passed an English language test, had a job and no criminal record.

Later, they could apply for citizenship-The Home Office has no firm figures on the number of illegal immigrants in the UK, but estimates range from 450,000 up to 870,000.

Among those who attended the "Strangers into Citizens" rally were Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster; the Anglican Bishop of Southwark, Dr Tom Butler; Labour deputy leadership contender Jon Cruddas; and Jack Dromey, deputy leader of the Transport and General Workers' Union.

Campaigners claim hundreds of thousands of immigrants are stuck in a "dehumanising limbo" in the UK and letting them work legally would bring huge benefits in extra taxes and better working conditions.

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said he did not want to encourage illegal immigration but with up to half a million "undocumented" migrants in the country some way must be found "for their rights to be respected."

Britain last granted an amnesty in 2003 to certain categories of asylum-seeker families. David Blunkett, then Home Secretary, predicted that around 14,000 families would qualify, allowing 50,000 people to settle legally in Britain.

But since then almost twice that number have taken advantage of the measure and stayed.

Critics say any such scheme is doomed to failure in the long term.

Both Spain and Italy have granted repeated amnesties over the past 20 years, yet the problem of illegal immigration has grown.

In Italy, a 1988 amnesty allowed 119,000 foreigners to settle. When the exercise was repeated in 2002 the figure soared to 700,000. In Spain, figures rose from 44,000 in 1985 to 700,000 two years ago.

Privately, Home Office officials admit there is no real prospect of returning most of Britain's illegal immigrants, meaning hundreds of thousands are likely to stay for years, working in the black economy.

Such a vast amnesty would allow the Government to wipe the immigration slate clean, but it would unleash a political storm.

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of the MigrationWatch think-tank, said: "This rally is no doubt well-intentioned, but it is thoroughly misconceived.

"An amnesty, even spread over several years, is absolutely bound to increase illegal immigration by people who will be undercutting the wages of British workers."

A Home Office spokesman said: "An amnesty for immigrants illegally in the UK is unnecessary and would simply create a strong pull for waves of illegal migration."