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Net migration to UK rises to 333,000

Net migration to the UK has increased to the second highest level on record, official figures show.

The figure - the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the UK - was estimated at 333,000 for the year ending December 2015, up 20,000 on the year before.

Net migration to the UK from the EU was estimated to be 184,000 in 2015, up from 174,000 in 2014.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics are the last to be released before next month's EU referendum.

In 2010, Prime Minister David Cameron promised to reduce the annual level of net migration to below 100,000 - but it is a pledge he has failed to meet.

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ONS: Net migration of EU citizens reaches 184,000

The latest figures on EU migration have been released Credit: PA

Net migration of EU citizens is estimated to be 184,000, for the year ending December 2015, according to the Office for National Statistics.

This is compared with 174,000 in the previous year. Non-EU net migration was 188,000, compared with 194,000 the previous year.

333,000
was the net long-term migration to the UK in 2015, the second highest level on record.

Immigration has been a key issue during the EU referendum campaign and the figures are expected to spark a fierce debate between Remain and Leave camps.

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