Sadiq Khan has been accused of "cherry-picking" the data after his claim that "skilled migrants" contribute to the economy while British families take from it was debunked by the Government's own analysis.
The Labour Mayor of London, who had publicly distanced himself from his party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, over his stance on migration just days ago, made the remarks on an LBC phone-in.
"A skilled migrant's family will contribute £12,000 a year" to the UK economy, Khan claimed.
"A British skilled worker's family takes from the economy," he added.
The Mayor called the figures a "lovely stat" which he claimed demolished the idea that migrants were "spongers or skivers".
The Labour Mayor of London made the remarks on an LBC phone-in
LBC
But data from the Home Office's quango, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC0 muddies the water around the Mayor's claim.
While it is true that skilled migrant workers contribute more in their first single year in Britain, Khan's reference to "British skilled workers" applies to all UK-born adults, including pensioners and those on benefits - from 18 to 115, the oldest person on Earth, Briton Ethel Caterham.
The total Government spend on welfare, including pensions, stands at more than £300billion annually.
But as the MAC points out, neither skilled migrant workers nor their dependents have recourse to public funds, so cannot receive any social protection benefits.
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Many have successfully challenged their removal from the UK using human rights lawsPAThey also do not have any state pension entitlement until they have made National Insurance contributions for 10 years - by which point, they will have likely obtained Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Essentially, they are not allowed to be net recipients when they arrive.
"It should be noted that the early years of SW [Skilled Worker] migrants are likely to be when they are the most net fiscally positive," the MAC says.
In fact, the MAC acknowledges that an "inevitable consequence" of focusing on skilled migrants is that it will show a "very sizeable net positive fiscal impact".
From their first year onwards, the MAC says, migrants' net contribution to the Exchequer will likely decrease.
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The Mayor had been referring to the data on the left - which only applies to a migrant worker's first year in Britain, when they are ineligible for a slew of tax-funded payments
MIGRATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Sadiq Khan has publicly distanced himself from the Prime Minister's remarks
PA
In response to the phone-in, City Hall firebrand opponent Susan Hall has accused the London Mayor of "cherry-picking" his data "to the extreme".
"This is divisive, inflammatory stuff and Khan knows it," Hall said, adding: "Cherrypicking data to the extreme in order to make some smug point on the radio is just a new low for this man, and frankly hardworking tax-paying Londoners deserve better.
"To suggest Britons are not contributing to their own country - get real, Sadiq."
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: "Total tosh, as one might expect from Sir Sadiq Khan. I note he refers only to skilled workers - who comprise a small proportion of the overall inflow. In any case, as we pointed out in our comment following publication of the White paper (WP), of those coming on the family spouse/partner route, just 44 per cent are in employment compared to 75 per cent nationally.
"The WP contains no proposals on higher salary thresholds, and no date for introducing the higher (degree level) threshold. Nor are all care visas to be abolished. Meanwhile, there will still be a shortage list and no way of linking employers’ skills and training investment. Graduates will be able to stay 18 months to work after their studies. There will also be lots of exemptions to the 10-year qualifying period for indefinite leave. And, there is no plan or date for implementing any of this.
"Sir Sadiq is simply wrong, and the White Paper is little more than a huge charade designed to con us into thinking the government is taking action. It’s doing nothing of the sort."
Elsewhere on his phone-in, Khan was asked how he felt about Starmer's "island of strangers" remark, which has already earned the Prime Minister the ire of the Labour left.
In response, he said those were "not words that I would use" - and defended other comments made by Starmer in which the PM talked up diversity.
"Well, those aren't words that I would use," the Mayor told a caller, adding: "I read the white paper and I understand the context of the white paper and those aren't words that I would use."
"If you listen to the Prime Minister's speech he also talked about diversity being a strength," he added.
And after the phone-in, he wrote on social media: "Generations of migrants have helped contribute to London's success economically, socially and culturally.
"Thank you for what you have done - and continue to do - to make London the greatest city in the world."
GB News has approached the Mayor of London for comment.
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