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Government fails in bid to slash net migration

The Government has officially failed to deliver on its pledge to slash net migration to the tens of thousands before the general election as the last batch of official figures before May 7 revealed another surge in arrivals.

There was a net flow of 298,000 migrants to the UK in the year to September, equal to the population of a city roughly the size of Nottingham and up from 210,000 in the previous 12 months, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

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PM 'disappointed' with net migration increase

David Cameron is "disappointed" with new figures showing a rise in net migration to the UK, Downing Street said.

Prime Minister David Cameron. Credit: PA Wire

The Tories had pledged to get the figure down to below 100,000 by the end of the current parliamentary term, but figures released today showed net migration had risen to 298,000 - higher than when the coalition came to power in 2010.

"The Prime Minister is disappointed with today's figures," a Number 10 spokesperson said.

"He had said previously that we have not made as much progress as he would like but he had also said that he doesn't regret making this commitment because he thinks it is in the interests of our country, that we will have a better, stronger country, if we have lower net migration."

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Government fails in bid to slash net migration

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