A report by Thames Water revealed that one in 12 people in London may be illegal immigrants, suggesting a population exceeding 500,000. The research estimated that most undocumented arrivals had overstayed work, study, or tourism visas. While the UK is believed to have over one million illegal immigrants, about 60% reside in London. Recent Border Force operations have intercepted dinghies carrying migrants across the English Channel, contributing to a record influx. The UK government is under pressure to address illegal immigration, with calls for legal reforms and increased enforcement against businesses employing undocumented workers to tackle the crisis.
A shocking report has revealed that one in 12 people in London are illegal immigrants.
A previously confidential study commissioned by Thames Water found the capital’s “undocumented” population could exceed 500,000 people.
The aim was to quantify the “hidden” users of the utility’s services in order to better meet demand.
Researchers at Edge Analytics used academic estimates of national illegal immigration and national insurance registers of non-EU foreigners over nine years to estimate the numbers for each London borough.
The study yielded numbers ranging from a low of 390,355 to a high of 585,533, with a median of 487,944.
It suggests that most illegal immigrants arrived in the UK on work, study or tourist visas and then overstayed.
It is estimated that there are more than one million illegal immigrants in the UK, 60 per cent of whom are in the British capital, according to a report obtained by The Telegraph.
Many illegal immigrants arrive in the UK on work, study or tourist visas and overstay their stay.
Two dinghies carrying 190 people were spotted by Border Force vessels on Tuesday despite poor visibility.
This year, it took just 21 days for the number of people crossing to reach 1,000, making it the fastest time on record.
The Home Office does not publish comprehensive data estimating the number of illegal immigrants in the UK.
It only publishes the number of illegal immigrants who have entered the UK since 2018.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip said: “It is completely unacceptable that we have so many illegal immigrants in the UK.”
“We need to review our laws to ensure that false human rights, modern slavery and asylum claims are not used to delay or prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants.”
Richard Tice, vice president of Reform UK, told the Telegraph: “One in 12 people in London are in the country illegally, likely working illegally and using taxpayer-funded public infrastructure and services. “I’m doing it,” he said. That is totally unacceptable.
“This is another reason why we need to manage our borders properly.”
Yesterday it was reported that more than 1,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year, with new records revealing how Sir Keir Starmer is struggling to deal with the crisis.
On Tuesday, two dinghies carrying 129 people were spotted by Border Force vessels despite poor visibility, bringing the provisional total for 2025 to 18 to 1,019.
This means that this year it took just 21 days for the number of crossings to reach 1,000, the fastest time on record.
Inflatable dinghy and outboard motor stored in Dover Port Authority yard
Hundreds of people were arrested in London last month after the government cracked down on illegal workers at car washes, nail bars and supermarkets. The owner of Walton Car Wash was arrested in 2016 and two people were referred to immigration authorities.
The crew were loaded onto a Border Force catamaran in the mid-Channel and then taken to the port of Dover in Kent.
The latest figures add to the pressure on the Prime Minister, who is struggling to get a grip on the problem.
Lord Keir said in November that he was prepared to pay money to the governments of Vietnam, Kurdistan and Turkey to stop illegal immigrants from entering the UK.
The Prime Minister said he was ready to consider “everything” to help slow the wave of migrants crossing the Channel illegally.
He declined to comment directly on reports that his government was in talks with the regimes of Kurdistan and Vietnam over a deal in which Britain would pay money to stop migrants heading to Britain.
But he indicated he would not oppose the principle of paying money to third countries to help respond to the Channel migration crisis.
“Anything we can do to stop people from leaving in the first place is the right thing to do,” he said.
But the Conservatives said the government had “lost control” of the UK’s borders.
Last year, 36,816 people successfully crossed the busy shipping channel in the deadliest year on record for small boat migrants.
On January 21, a group of suspected migrants is taken to Dover, Kent.
Shadow home secretary Chris Phillip (pictured) said the government had “lost control” of the UK’s borders.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Government is strengthening global partnerships to root out criminal organizations that profit from life-threatening small boat crossings.”
“We also removed 16,400 illegal immigrants in just six months, the highest number in five years, making it clear that illegal immigrants will be deported.”
A Home Office source told the Telegraph that the underlying data was outdated and there was no officially accepted way to measure how many illegal immigrants there were in the UK.
A massive rescue operation was launched on Monday to save 84 migrants crammed into a dinghy that ran aground on a sandbar while trying to cross the English Channel.
The French coast guard was alerted after witnesses spotted an overloaded inflatable boat trying to cross into the UK.
A nearby French customs ship was sent to the area to monitor the dinghy off the coast of Waldes, near Calais.
Upon arrival, the crew reported that the dinghy had run aground on a sandbar, but the shallow water meant they were unable to get close enough to rescue it.
The stranded migrants also made a distress call to French authorities.
As the tide began to rise, a Navy Air and Sea rescue helicopter was scrambled and another boat was dispatched to assist with the rescue.
People believed to be migrants disembarking from a British Border Force ship at the port of Dover on January 15th.
Brits using cash-only nail bars, barbers and car washes are ‘exacerbating the problem’ of illegal immigration and could lead to more victims of slavery, a senior Home Office official has warned.
A total of 22 people who were stranded by the tide were pulled from the sandbar and transferred to a customs boat.
The remaining 62 people on board the dinghy were able to continue trying to reach Britain, but they also issued a second distress call.
They rescued the tug Abeille Normandie, chartered by the French Navy, and picked up the 62 people who remained on the boat and dropped them off at the French port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, where they were all cared for by rescue teams. . Service on land.
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “Analysis to estimate the ‘hidden temporary’ population is carried out by an independent consultancy based on publicly available sources such as censuses, surveys and published academic research. It’s being done,” he said. Thames Water was not involved in the preparation of the report and the conclusions drawn are those of the independent company that carried out the research. ”
Hundreds of people were arrested in London last month after the government cracked down on illegal workers at car washes, nail bars and supermarkets.
Between July and November, nearly 1,000 enforcement visits were carried out across the capital by the Home Office’s immigration enforcement teams.
Between July and November, nearly 1,000 enforcement visits were carried out across the capital by the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement Team. Photo: Stock image of immigration officer
During that time, 996 visits resulted in 770 arrests and 462 facilities received civil penalty notices. If found guilty, employers could be fined up to £60,000 per worker.
During a recent visit to a hotel in Kensington, six government employees were arrested on suspicion of working illegally, including one on suspicion of overstaying his visa.
Dame Angela Eagle MP, Minister for Border Protection and Asylum, said: “Dismantling criminal organizations and restoring order to our asylum system is a key part of our transformation plan.”
“That’s exactly why we’re cracking down on undocumented workers, to prevent abuse of our immigration system and protect people who have been sold false promises about their ability to live and work here.”
“Since the election, there has been a deliberate increase in arrests and enforcement visits, demonstrating that there will be no cover for law enforcement.”
The raids focused on car washes, nail bars, supermarkets, and construction sites suspected of employing illegal workers and subjecting them to poor conditions and illegal working hours below minimum wage.
This comes as a senior Home Office official said Brits using cash-only nail bars, barbers and car washes were “exacerbating the problem” of illegal immigration and could create more victims of slavery. This was in response to a warning.
