UK tried to hide figures on student overstays

The British newspaper The Times has said, citing Whitehall sources, that the real number of international students who overstay their permission to reside in the UK is much lower, at just 1% of students, or 1,500 people per year, than previously reported by the government. The Home Office has refused to share the findings with other ministries or to release the figures under freedom of information requests, the paper said.