In recent years immigration has been the main driver of population growth rather than the number of births over deaths

Net migration has added a quarter of a million people to the population each year for the past 12 years, according to official figures published yesterday.

The figures show the impact of the expansion of the EU when Britain’s job market was opened to eight east European countries including Poland and the Baltic states.

In recent years immigration has been the main driver of population growth rather than the number of births over deaths. “Natural change has seen an increase in the population but the main driver of the growing population, particularly since the 1990s can be attributed to net migration,” an Office for National Statistics overview of the population said.

It said that the direct effect of net migration had increased the population by