London | Immigration into Britain climbed to almost three-quarters of a million people in 2022, official statistics showed on Thursday (Friday AEDT), a new and unwelcome record for the governing Conservative Party after it promised to use its post-Brexit powers to curb the number of arrivals.

The latest figures on net migration were a new setback for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, prompting anger within the party, as he also struggles to stop asylum-seekers arriving in small boats on the British coast, revive a slumbering economy and deal with dismal polling numbers.