“The UK government does not know how many people are in the country illegally.” — Nigel Farage. Our verdict: True.
Nigel Farage made the claim on 12 October 2026, in comments reported by the Manchester Evening News about his pledge to suspend the asylum system for five years.
Our verdict
True
The claim is accurate. The UK government has no official, up-to-date figure for how many people are in the country illegally, and its published statistics track detections and arrivals rather than a total population count.
What we found
We reached this verdict because the claim matches what the government itself says about its data. The Office for National Statistics has stated that no official estimate of the illegally resident population has been produced since the mid-2000s, mainly because the group is so hard to measure. The Home Office's own user guide to immigration statistics, published in 2026, shows that its figures cover specific things such as illegal entry routes and recorded detections, not a total number of people living in the UK illegally. Nigel Farage's remark was reported by the Manchester Evening News, and the wording of that report matches the claim we checked.
The evidence
2 of 3 sources support the claim; none contradict it.
- Background
The Manchester Evening News reported that Nigel Farage said the government does not know how many people are in the country illegally. [1]
- Supports the claim
The Office for National Statistics says the UK has not produced an official estimate of the illegally resident population since the mid-2000s, because measuring it is so difficult. [2]
- Supports the claim
The Home Office's user guide to immigration statistics shows that official figures track illegal entry routes and recorded detections, rather than giving a total estimate of people living in the country illegally. [3]
What we could not confirm
- We could not check whether the government holds any internal estimates that are not published.
- The main official statement on measurement dates from 2019, so we cannot confirm whether the method has changed since then.
How we checked
We looked at the original report of the claim and at official government publications on immigration and illegal migration statistics, including guidance from the Office for National Statistics and the Home Office. We reviewed 3 relevant sources.
Sources
- [1]www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk · Nigel Farage to pledge to suspend asylum system for five years · October 12, 2026
- [2]ons.gov.uk · Measuring illegal migration: our current view - Office for National Statistics · June 21, 2019
- [3]gov.uk · User guide to: Immigration system statistics · August 27, 2026
- [4]Photo: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
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