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David Cameron has been hit by record high immigration figures as he prepares to announce radical new measures to deter illegal working.

New figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that net long-term migration to the UK - the number of people entering the country minus the number leaving - was estimated to be 318,000 in the calendar year of 2014.

This was a "statistically significant" increase from from 209,000 in 2013, the ONS said, and only just below the previous peak level of 320,000 in the year ending June 2005.

The data showed that 641,000 immigrants came to the UK in 2014 - up by more than 100,000 from 526,000 in 2013.

The figures expose the size of the task facing the Government to fulfil an "ambition" to reduce annual net migration to five figures.

Mr Cameron made a "no ifs, no buts" pledge in 2010 to reduce the figure to the tens of thousands.

Home Secretary Theresa May told the BBC: "We still want to bring migration down to the tens of thousands" - the figure stated in the Conservative Manifesto.

But she stopped short of describing the figure as a "target."

David Cameron will outline a radical new immigration bill in a speech this morning.

The new law will introduce a new law of "illegal working" to make it possible for police to seize the wages of people in the country illegally.

Under the proposals, banks will be forced to check accounts against databases of those in the country illegally.

Businesses will also be banned from advertising jobs overseas before they have advertised in this country.

And a new labour market enforcement agency will be created to crack down on the worst cases of labour market exploitation.

The new bill will be included in the Queen's Speech on Wednesday .