Population growth at 47-year high

The UK population grew by 408,000 in 2008 - the biggest increase for almost 50 years, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The total number of people passed 61m for the first time, with changes in birth and death rates now a bigger cause of growth than immigration.

The numbers of people arriving minus those leaving actually fell by 44%.

Minister Phil Woolas said migrants were coming for short periods, contributing to the economy and then going home.

The UK population grew more in 2008 than at any time since 1962, when it rose by 484,000.

Latest ONS figures also show:

• There are now a record 1.3 million people aged over 85, making up 2% of the total
• There were 791,000 babies born in 2008, an increase of 33,000 on 2007
• Half of that increase were to women born overseas, but living in the UK
• The population is now growing by 0.7% a year, more than double the rate in the 1990s and three times the level of the 1980s.

'Shambolic'

Overall, 118,000 more people arrived in the UK than left in 2008 - the lowest level since EU enlargement.

Mr Woolas said this fall in net migration was proof that "only those that Britain needs can come" into the country.

"Britain's borders are stronger than ever before. Our border controls in northern France are stopping record numbers of migrants reaching our shores - 28,000 in 2008," he said.

"The British people can be confident that immigration is under control."

But opposition parties disagreed. The Liberal Democrats called the immigration system "shambolic," saying the true number of new arrivals could be much higher because of "the continuing lack of control over our borders".

Shadow immigration minister Damian Green said: "This puts added pressure on housing and transport, and shows that there is still no proper control over immigration numbers."

Campaign group MigrationWatch UK also dismissed Mr Woolas' claims.