FEWER than one in 50 reports of illegal immigration result in a person being removed from the country, a group of influential MPs has discovered.
A database, set up by the now-defunct UK Border Agency (UKBA) to follow up tip-offs by the public, revealed about 6% of claims lead to an investigation and 1.5% lead to removals.
The Home Affairs Select Committee report also said the UKBA had a backlog of 432,029 immigration and asylum cases when it was scrapped in March, which at current levels will take five years to clear.
Home Secretary Theresa May replaced the UKBA with UK Visas and Immigration and an Immigration Enforcement command, which were brought back under the control of ministers.
Committee chairman Keith Vaz said it "does not give confidence to those who got out of their way to help the Home Office".
He said:"When people make allegations about those here illegally, the Home Office must act."
Between its introduction on September 30 last year and June 30 this year, the database had received 48,660 allegations - about 178 a day.
In the eight months to May this year, allegations resulted in 2695 investigations, 1840 arrests and 660 removals.
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