A record 1.02 million Poles lived in Britain at the end of 2017, according to the UK Office for National Statistics.

The number was 19,000 up on 2016.

The new figures, released on Thursday, give the lie to reports that a growing number of Poles are heading back to their home country ahead of Britain’s impending exit from the European Union, Poland’s PAP news agency said.

Polish citizens constitute the largest national minority in Britain, ahead of Romanians and citizens of Ireland and India, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In 2003, the year before Poland joined the EU, 69,000 Poles lived in Britain, PAP reported.

(pk/gs)

Source: PAP