Sham weddings soar to 934 in one year

The number of sham weddings reported by registrars in England and Wales has tripled, latest figures show.

In four years, cases have risen from 282 annually to 934 - the equivalent of 18 every week. Last year, the number jumped by 66 per cent compared with 2009.

A clampdown was introduced in 2005 after the number of suspected sham ceremonies reached 3,700 a year. It reduced the figure by 90 per cent, targeting non-EU citizens who would marry Britons or EU citizens with full residency rights to gain permission to remain indefinitely.

But Mandy Brammer, a registrar in Brent, told BBC's Panorama that there was "every likelihood" that the problem could return to 2004 levels.