Tens of thousands of illegal migrants were allowed to stay in the country after telling police that they were British or EU citizens, a report has found. In response, MPs have accused the police of “taking their eye off the ball” on immigration. The report, by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration found that in some areas across the country, police officers were taking migrants at their word regarding their right to remain in the country, rather than referring them to the Home Office for checks on their eligibility to stay in the UK as protocol demands. According to police figures, between 185,000 and 193,000 foreign nationals were arrested by police forces in the UK between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2015, of whom about a third were arrested by the Metropolitan Police Force, which covers London. In 2012 police procedures on the arrest of foreigners were changed. Previously officers could phone the Home Office for an immigration status check on those detained, but since that date officers have been expected to refer the detained person to the Home Office Command and Control Unit (CCU) or an embedded Immigration Officer (IO) for processing. This does not appear