When asked to respond to Prof Matras's claims, a spokeswoman for the Office for National Statistics said the data published was what had been collected on the census forms for the city.

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Many of the statistics we see every day are a stark reminder that the well educated STEM workforce that forms the backbone of our country is at risk.

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The 2011 census should be the last where population is counted through the collection of census forms, it said - instead data should be gathered throughout the UK to allow more reliable annual statistics.

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