A FALL in the number of Eastern Europeans coming to Britain is a sign that the economy is in serious trouble, a London MP has warned.

The Home Office today issued a statement highlighting a drop in the number of Eastern Europeans registering to work in Britain.

But Vince Cable, the MP for Twickenham and Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesman, said the figures were nothing to celebrate.

He said: "This is another clear indication that the British economy is very seriously slowing down.

"We haven't yet got the figures for the number of Eastern Europeans returning home, but I suspect there will have been a big increase.

"If we get into a serious recession, immigration will become negative, as it has before."

Critics of immigration from countries such as Poland should admit they were wrong, he said.

"I hope that all those people who have been running scare stories about the impact of immigration from Eastern Europe on jobs and housing will now eat a little humble pie.

"They should acknowledge that immigration flows are very sensitive to the state of the economy."

Home Office figures showed that there were 40,000 applications to the Worker Registration Scheme between April and June this year, a drop of 14,000 from the same period last year.

Citizens of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia who work in Britain for more than a month are expected to join the scheme.

The number of Bulgarians and Romanians applying to work in the UK has also dropped to its lowest level since accession in January 2007 with only 7,005 applications for worker cards and registration certificates between April and June of this year, compared to 10,860 in the same period last year.

Asylum applications were up, at 5,720 in the second quarter of the year compared with 4,960 in the same period last year.

But Ministers focused on the number of applications in 2007, which they said was lower than in previous years at 23,430.

Border and Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said: "Britain's borders are stronger than ever with asylum applications at an historic low and an immigration offender removed every eight minutes.

"Foreign lawbreakers are being removed from Britain at record levels with more than 2,500 deported so far this year. I have made it repeatedly clear that people who come here must earn the right to stay, work hard and play by the rules."

Related links: Home Office statement.

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