Up to 600,000 illegal immigrants should be given the right to "earn" full citizenship, the Liberal Democrats said yesterday. It is the first major party to lean towards advocating an amnesty for such migrants.

Nick Clegg, the party's home affairs spokesman, said a route to citizenship was the only way to deal with people who may have been in Britain - but outside the legal system - for many years. Under the plans, to be debated by the party's annual conference next month, people who have lived in Britain for a decade, have no criminal record and show a long-term commitment to the country could gain citizenship.

He said attempting to remove the backlog of failed asylum-seekers and people who had overstayed their visas was "the politics of the madhouse"....

Lib Dems call for amnesty for illegal immigrants - Independent Online Edition > UK Politics