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A study from the LSE commissioned by the Mayor, Boris Johnson, estimates that there are nearly three-quarters of a million illegal immigrants in Britain.
On the basis that two-thirds of all illegals end up in London, that means that the capital is home to half a million people who should not be here.
Granted, these figures are, however good the survey, uncertain: illegal immigrants live in the shadows.
And because the last Conservative government abolished the monitoring of entrance to and exit from the UK at points of entry, something the present government failed to reverse, there has been no reliable official means to establish how many people are here who ought not to be.
But given that hundreds of thousands of people are living and working in London without official recognition, the question is, what to do with them. Mr Johnson wants those who have lived here for several years to be given citizenship, on condition that they are able to support themselves and have no criminal record. On compassionate grounds, he has a point. Illegal immigrants are routinely exploited by unscrupulous employers and landlords, pay no tax and are fearful of reporting abuse to the police.
The case against an amnesty, however, is stronger. Regularising the position of illegal immigrants would inexorably act as a draw to others - the shambles of Spain's immigration record gives the lie to the notion that amnesties work. It would validate the odious work of the people-traffickers. It would mean admitting an unknown number of people, and their dependents, to the benefits of citizenship, an open cheque that we cannot afford.
The Government's record on returning illegal immigrants has been woefully inadequate - only 111,265 people have been returned in the decade to 2008. The positive response, as Mr Johnson suggests, is to tighten up existing inadequate border controls. But an amnesty is not the answer to porous borders.
FSA with bite
The shadow chancellor, George Osborne, is considering a report he commissioned from Sir James Sassoon on reform of the financial regulatory system.
The report calls for "fundamental reform" of the tripartite system of supervision established by Gordon Brown, with HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the FSA. Certainly, Sir James is right that any effective regulation must concentrate not only on the performance of individual institutions, but on larger problems affecting them all.
If this had been the case earlier, we might have identified the problems leading to the credit crunch, notably the over-reliance of so many banks on the money markets. But it would be a mistake to subsume the FSA into the Bank of England. The FSA head, Lord Turner, has already said that it will tackle banks' business models; his reforms deserve support.
Meanwhile, fallout from the collapse of the banking system continues, with institutional shareholders of Lloyds expressing real anger at the performance of the top executives which drove it to join forces with HBOS, and into the hands of government.
They are right to want the head of Sir Victor Blank, who brought a good bank to this pass; trouble is, the Government is now a 70 per cent shareholder, and Mr Brown has expressed support for Sir Victor. It's infuriating, but there is absolutely nothing they can do.
London pride
Constitutional expert Vernon Bogdanor has told MPs that being a Londoner is more important for many people in the capital than being English.
Given that a third of those living here were born overseas, that is perhaps not surprising.
Just like the cult of being a New Yorker, a city open to newcomers as well as the city's natives, this sense of identity is a unique and positive phenomenon. We are all proud of our anarchic, rich and diverse city. Small wonder we call ourselves Londoners first.
Reader views (15)
I see his point. They would then pay insurance and tax but it would encourage more immigration and more illegal immigration perhaps some of whom could be criminals an d our little island is becoming too crowded now. This especially true in England where 90% of immigrants live and of which 75% live in London and the South East. I believe with the credit crunch, this will cause a worsening of race relations. Of course, Boris would say that the answer is to have better protection of our borders but this isn't going to happen in a hurry with this Government.
- Barbara Davis, Lonson, 12/03/2009 14:57
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I do beleive that Bris is spot on as regards amnesty ! Some of this people just want to work and live peacefully.
- Rodney, London, 11/03/2009 00:43
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Any amnesty of the 3/4-1 million means 3-4 millions more instantly from the right of family migration.
- Mr Vilett, London, 10/03/2009 14:10
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Sorry Boris. I like you but on this you are way out of line. Quite simply, you are justifying the breaking of the law. If you provide an amnesty, you simply open the floodgates to an even greater number of chancers and freeloaders. And you can be certain, most of those who are here illegally are involved in petty and major crime - simply to survive. They will not be paying taxes or national insurance if made legal. They will be ransacking what is left of our benefits and reducing our dwindling coffers so that local services will be hard pressed to help to our own old, sick and unemployed existing & former tax payers. Naive and foolish stuff.
- Ricky, Hackney, London, 09/03/2009 21:14
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We need Richard Barnbrook to have a word with Boris, he might just listen.
- Yvonne, harrow Weald, 09/03/2009 17:40
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I am starting to think ID cards would be a good idea! Or at least an "internal passport" as used by former USSR countries. I am a Brit but spend much time in Russia and Ukraine. It is taken for granted there that you have to produce your passport all the time, to police, health services, banks etc. The people I meet think it is ridiculous that we have no similar documentation in UK!
- Sandy, Ealing, UK, 09/03/2009 17:07
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Gabriel, London you are correct, most of the students who have spended lot of money and under debt by the bank, they are more deserving this amnesty. Claiming benefit and not paying tax involved in crime and submiting fake documents,benefit in domestic violence,cheating with the asylum must be exit.The job prefrence to the British peoples, other should be out
- M A Sular, London, 09/03/2009 16:29
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we're overburdoned with immigrants in this country as it is. Granting amnesty is a waste of time. Repatriate them
and give jobs to unemployed English citizens who deserve them more.
- PC, bexleyheath, 09/03/2009 15:17
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I think it is a good idea if you do it right,as far as i know there is lot of people who are very educated (university degree)waiting for their chance to shine,why not give them that chance,it will be good for them and the contry.
Gabriel.
- Gabriel, london, 09/03/2009 14:46
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I like 'Amy in Kent' am an American Citizen living in Kent. When I married my British wife, I had to return to the USA and go through the proper channels with the British Consulate in New York for three month's and also paid fees. Once I arrived in the UK, I paid more fees and filed more paperwork, also submitted paperwork for proper checks. I still could not work or receive benefits like illegal immigrants instantly receive. Now, after several years of living and paying taxes in the UK, I paid my third set of fees to receive a 'Residency' visa and have the right to work in the UK. This is absolutely, and positively unfair for these folks to receive instant amnesty while people like me are following all the rules and regulations to obtain the right to live and work here.
These people are breaking the law and should be deported!
- Mark, Maidstone Kent, 09/03/2009 14:15
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I'm American, my husband is British, and I had to jump through hoops and pay a small fortune in order to get a visa to be here. To then just hand citizenship to the illegal immigrants on a silver platter would be a slap in the face and would make a mockery of the whole system
- Amy, Kent, 09/03/2009 13:25
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Yes!! Brilliant!! Let's reward everyone who brakes the law.
- Dave, London, 09/03/2009 13:12
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No, Boris. No. No. No. No. NO.
- Ken, Bexleyheath, 09/03/2009 12:13
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and Boris Johnson - no thanks!
interesting article though!
- Cally, London, 09/03/2009 11:51
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Amnesty?
No thanks....
- Kyle, London, 09/03/2009 11:17
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