The figures underline the huge flux within the population from not just international migration, but also British people moving around the country. According to the Halifax, the country's largest mortgage lender who closely monitors house ownership, 345,000 more British people left London than moved to the capital between 1998 and 2007. It is the only area in Britain that has suffered from a loss of population due to internal migration, suggesting its character is swiftly changing. However, this net loss from internal migration was more than offset by 1.8 million international migrants who arrived in the city during this period. The figures bring into question the Home Office's promise to keep the overall population below 70 million. The balance of those settling here over those leaving must be cut to just 50,000 a year if the population is not to pass the landmark total, according to Karen Dunnell, the National Statistician, in a letter to MPs in December 2008. The current net level of international migration is 237,000. Keith Woolas, immigration minister, vowed in October 2008 that the Government would not let the population go above 70 million but on current projections it will pass that within two decades.
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Illegal Indian immigrants thriving in London: BBC
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