THE local authority in London’s East End, which has one of Britain’s biggest migrant populations, is backing moves to give citizenship to those who have “slipped between the cracks.” Tower Hamlets council has voted to support the Strangers into Citizens’ campaign

THE Town Hall at Tower Hamlets in London’s East End, which has one of Britain’s biggest migrant populations, is backing moves to give citizenship to those who have “slipped between the cracks.”

The council has voted to support the Strangers into Citizens’ campaign by the London Citizens pressure group which is backed by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Neil Jameson, director of the Tower Hamlets branch of London Citizens, won the authority’s backing after addressing Wednesday night’s council meeting.

Council leader Lutfur Rahman said: “Thousands of people come here for a better life.

“But some slip between the cracks and some are exploited by their employers.

“They are not criminals and should not be treated as such.”

The campaigners are calling on the Government to allow undocumented migrants who have lived in the country more than five years to become legal citizens.

There are half-a-million irregular’ migrants living and working in the UK, according to the Home Office. Most of them, some 400,000, are in London.