The cost to Britain of mass immigration is £16.8billion every year, a report claims today.

The figure includes a £1.2billion annual net cost of migrants from Europe, who consume far more in public services and benefits than they pay in taxes.

Today’s report – based on figures from the official Labour Force Survey – was seized on by campaigners for Britain to quit the European Union.

They said it demolished claims by George Osborne and the Treasury that EU immigration is a benefit to the nation’s finances. Last year alone, there were 800,000 arrivals – or one every 40 seconds.

The campaign group Migrationwatch compared the amount paid in income tax, national insurance, VAT and other taxes by migrants with the cost of providing them with health, education, policing, roads and other services.

The research found the gap between the contributions made by migrants from the EEA – which is the EU, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway – and the amount consumed by its citizens was £1.2billion last year, or over £3million a day.

For migrants from outside the EEA, the bill was £15.6billion. Experts explain the gap by the fact that the non-EEA migrants will include people who arrived here as asylum seekers, who are less likely to go on to get well-paid jobs.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3593872/17bn-true-cost-immigration-UK-year.html#ixzz48vMijjuI