Net immigration to rise from 136,000 to 224,000 next year

Net migration into Britain is due to be more than 75,000 people a year higher than expected in the middle of the decade.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has revealed it had revised up its prediction from just six months ago that the number of people arriving in Britain would outnumber those leaving from 136,000 to 224,000.

And it said that it now believes that from 2026 onwards the number will remain constant at around 205,000, up from 129,000. 

The figures, understood to be accepted by the Government, are based on existing plans rather than any forthcoming growth plan.

It comes at a time when Rishi Sunak has claimed he wants overall net migration to fall amid a row over foreign workers.  This week he refused to put an 'arbitrary number' on the target as he said he did not 'want all of them in the world'.

He had been asked about Home Secretary Suella Braverman's pledge to reduce net migration to tens of thousands of people.