Key Points:
Net migration in 2023 was reduced by a tenth but still stood at 685,000.
Rishi Sunak highlighted recent visa crackdown and Rwanda plan as solutions.
Figures show a 10% drop from the 2022 record of 764,000, but still three times higher than 2019.
General Election Tensions:
Net migration figures released amidst a General Election row over Britain's borders.
Home Office clarifies that numbers include legal and illegal arrivals before visa crackdown.
Oxford University's Migration Observatory deems the figures "unusually high."
Political Reactions:
Rishi Sunak faces scrutiny as Channel crossings set to exceed 10,000 this year.
Sunak links flights to Rwanda with election outcome, emphasizing need for deterrent.
Labour's Yvette Cooper presents election choice between chaos with Conservatives or Labour's solutions for immigration system.
