A quarter of London migrants claim benefits

One in four Londoners claiming benefits was born abroad, new figures reveal today.

They show that an estimated 176,900 non British-born nationals are living in the capital on benefits.

Overall, more than 5.5 million people across the country are on working-age benefits, with 13 per cent - or 715,000 - in London.

But claims that tens of thousands of immigrants are illegally claiming benefits were not borne out in the study by the Department for Work and Pensions.

It suggested as few as two per cent of non UK-born nationals claiming benefits were doing so unlawfully.

If correct, it would mean about 3,500 people born abroad and now living in the capital are receiving benefits to which they are not entitled.

However, the study's sample analysis of 9,000 cases was unable to match immigration and benefit records in 27 per cent of cases, so the figure for the number of newcomers illegally claiming benefit could be far higher.

In total, 371,000 individuals born abroad are believed to be on benefit, with nearly half of them in the capital. This high figure is partly explained by the fact that a third of Londoners are non UK-born.

Half of the benefit claimants born abroad will go on to become UK citizens, according to the report. The 19 countries with the highest number of people claiming benefits here include Pakistan, Somalia, Ireland, and Turkey.