Migration hits record high with jump in student levels

Net migration to the UK has reached a record level of 504,000 after the arrival of Ukrainians and Hongkongers under government schemes and a jump in the number of international students.

- Rajeev Syal and Jessica Elgot

Asylum applications are at their highest for 32 years, but nearly 100,000 people are waiting more than six months to have their initial claims processed, government data shows.

No 10 indicated it was examining options to bring down the numbers of international students. "We are considering all options to make sure the immigration system is delivering and that does include the issue of students' dependents, and low-quality degrees," Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said.

The new net migration figure released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is an increase of 331,000 in a single year and is at least 400,000 more than the home secretary, Suella Braverman, is aiming for.

She promised in September she would try to get overall migration down to "tens of thousands" - a promise previously made by David Cameron and Theresa May but never achieved.