Mass migration have increased rates of TB in some parts of London

We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Make the most of your money by signing up to our newsletter fornow

Experts behind the health study said there was a “clear link” between the potentially fatal infectious disease and migration, and revealed that 80 per cent of sufferers were born abroad.

More than 2,500 new cases of TB were recorded in the capital last year, nearly half of the UK’s annual total.

Dr Onkar Sahota, chair of the London Assembly Health Committee which published the report, called the findings “astounding” and demanded Mayor Boris Johnson take action.

The study said the capital had the unwanted title of “TB capital of Western Europe” for over a decade.

It found infection rates in one in three city boroughs crossed the World Health Organisation’s “high incidence” threshold with more than 40 cases per 100,000 people.

In the worst hit areas, Hounslow, Brent, Harrow, Newham and Ealing, the rate was more than 150.