New UK citizen 'every five minutes'

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The total figure of 1,020,510 equates to a passport being issued every five minutes to someone settling in the UK from overseas.

Political opponents seized on the data as proof that the Government needed to tighten border controls.

But the head of a leading immigration charity said people actively seeking a British passport were being turned into better citizens than those granted one through birth.

The figures, unveiled by the Conservative Party, show that in the year before Labour came to power, 43,070 applications for citizenship were granted.

By last year this annual figure had climbed to 154,095.

Damian Green, shadow immigration minister, said: "These extraordinary figures show why it is so necessary to tighten our security controls.

"A new British passport is granted every five minutes, so we need to be absolutely sure that each one is going to be someone who wants to play a positive role in this country."

Responding, Keith Best, chief executive of the Immigration Advisory Service, said: "These people have actively sought British citizenship because they want to make a contribution to the UK. I am not sure how many people born in this country have the same commitment.

"The tests for citizenship are greater then they have ever been. We are now turning immigrants into better citizens than people born with a British passport."