Record 650,000 people poured into UK in the year to June casting doubt on pledges to control immigration post-Brexit

THERESA May’s pledge to control immigration after Brexit was called into fresh doubt as it emerged a record 650,000 new arrivals poured into Britain in just the last year.

In a devastating indictment on the PM and her ministers, the majority who came here in the 12 months to June - 289,000 – were not from the EU but the rest of the world.

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MPs insisted the government have no excuse for the fiasco as while Europe allows free movement, Britain has had full controls in place for non-EU migrants for years.

The jumbo new total also included 284,000 people from within the EU, which is another record high.

The Office of National Statistics found there has been a “significant increase” in people from southern and eastern member states coming to work.

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Of the 189,000 EU citizens arriving here for a job, a huge 82,000 had no job offer before they entered.

There was also a significant spike in new arrivals from Romania and Bulgaria, which now account for 25% of all EU immigration.

And for the first time, Romania was the country where most new arrivals came from throughout 2015.

A total of 54,000 immigrated to the UK from the eastern European country, followed by China’s 44,000, and India’s 36,000.

Having initially been cut when the Tories came to power in 2010, the numbers of non-EU migrants to the UK have been climbing for the last three years – from 242,000 in 2013 to 289,000 now.

Of the total tally coming to Britain from outside of the EU, a huge 113,000 came to study, 74,000 to work and 46,000 to join relatives.

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As only 315,000 people left the country in the same time period, the net immigration figure is 335,000 new arrivals, just 1,000 short of the record high for a year posted three months ago.

The latest figures again made a mockery of the Tories’ election pledge just 18 months ago to bring net immigration down to below 100,000.

The figures are also personal embarrassment to Mrs May, as the fresh tidal wave came during her final year of six as Home Secretary.

Commons Home Affairs Committee chair Yvette Cooper insisted the latest disaster meant the PM is “further away than ever” from reaching her target.

The senior Labour MP added: “The Government’s approach is failing. Theresa May cannot just blame the EU, when non-EU migration is twice as high as she promised it would be”.

The latest tally is for the 12 months to June 2016, before the EU referendum, so Brexit’s effect on the number of new arrivals is not yet known.

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Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill said: “The British people have sent a very clear message that they want more control of immigration and we are committed to getting net migration down to sustainable levels in the tens of thousands.

“We continue to reform non-EU immigration routes to ensure we attract the best and brightest, who benefit and contribute to this country.

“But there is more to do.”