One in 12 people living in Britain came here as an immigrant, official figures revealed last night. They show that the influx of foreigners has accelerated sharply in recent years -- particularly since Labour came to power in 1997.

A record 513,000 people settled here in 2002, almost double the figure of 266,000 ten years ago, says the Office of National Statistics. And the true immigration figures are certain to be far higher.

The ONS report makes no estimate of the numbers arriving in Britain illegally, many smuggled in by trafficking gangs. It is also based on the flawed 2001 census, which failed to count a million people.

Immigration now accounts for 80 per cent of population growth, according to the ONS, which puts Britain's population at 59.2million in 2002 -- up 3 per cent over the last decade and 18 per cent since 1951.

The 4.9million people living in Britain who were born overseas now account for 8.3 per cent of the population -- or one in 12 -- almost double the proportion seen 50 years ago.

The report says that in the ten years to 2002, a total of 3.9million people came to Britain while 2.8mil-lion left, leaving a net immigration of l.lmillion -- not including illegals.

In the previous decade to 1992 the net influx was 240,000, and the ten years before that saw an exodus of 430,000.

The yearly figures show a sharp increase in immigration after Labour took power in 1997. The number arriving was stable at just over 300,000 throughout the early and mid-1990s, but then climbed sharply in the three years after 1997 to almost 500,000, and is still rising. The numbers leaving Britain have also increased, but more slowly.

Of those living here who were born abroad, around half are white, the survey revealed. The largest ethnic minority groups are Indian (570,000); Pakistani (336,000); black African (322,000), black Caribbean (238,000) and Chinese (176,000).

Immigrants are more likely to be of working age than native Britons, with around half aged 25 to 44. The ONS says: 'The recent increases in net international migration to the UK mean that migration became much more important in determining the country's population change in the late 1990s.'

The figures will raise fresh questions about the Government's claim to be operating an effective policy of 'managed migration'.

Two months ago Tony Blair promised a 'top to bottom' rethink on immigration strategy, while admitting for the first time that people had good reason to be concerned over abuses in the system. Ministers have been on the defensive ever since the eastern Europe visas scandal which cost Immigration Minister Beverley Hughes her job.

Critics accuse the Government of triggering the fastest level of immigration in Britain's history without informing or consulting the public.

Ministers claim that 'managed migration' is necessary in order to fill the jobs which native Britons do not want to take, particularly low-skilled work in the agricultural and hospitality industries.

Since 1997, Labour has expanded legal economic immigration by issuing more work permits and developing schemes for foreign workers to enter the country to work in particular sectors.
As well as immigration, the ONS report reveals that there has been a shift in the population balance, with more elderly and fewer young people, and shows that women are waiting longer before having their first child.