Over 100,000 Polish workers have gone home, ministers claims

Up to 100,000 Polish workers have left the UK in the last 12 months, it has been claimed.

Ministers revealed that almost half of those who came from eastern Europe since 2004 to work have now returned home.

EU rules on immigration were relaxed in 2004, leading to a significant increase in the number of non-UK workers settling in the country.

As many as 350,000 people could have returned to their native countries over the last two years, reports the Daily Mail.

A spokesman for the UK Border Agency commented: "Our figures show that fewer Eastern Europeans are coming here and research suggests that half of those that came to the UK to work have now gone home. On top of this our new points system means only those with the skills we need will be able to work or study here and no more."

In 2007, over 150,000 people from Poland applied to join the UK's Worker Registration Scheme.