ALMOST all the 500 jobs being relocated to Newport's Office of National Statistics in the next five years will be filled by Gwent people, it has emerged.

The welcome surprise was delivered by Len Cook, Britain's national statistician, on a site visit to Newport last night.

Mr Cook said the workers at ONS' London and Southampton sites were choosing to be made redundant rather than relocate to Wales.

He said: "In Southampton, many of the staff joined us in the early 1970s and are now contemplating early retirement.

"In London statisticians are in high demand and our staff there know they can find alternative jobs quite easily."

Mr Cook said bosses always told potential relocators not to judge Newport "by the drive from the railway station to our offices".

He said: "Negative first impressions are trivial and silly. Anyone who has spent any time here knows what an incredibly rich and diverse area this is."

The reluctance to move means a jobs bonanza for Gwent workers.

Many will be highly paid roles demanding A-levels and/or a degree.

The ONS is making Newport its national headquarters and during the next five years it will shift its IT, human resources and finance departments to the city, along with extensive research and analytical functions. Eventually, 1,500 people will be employed on site.

One hundred researchers are being recruited this year and advertisments for the first 25 will be appearing this week.

Mr Cook, who has led the ONS for the last five years and retires to his native New Zealand on August 31, said: "We've already recruited a huge number of very able people at Newport and I've no doubt that we will fill every new post easily and very quickly.

"This relocation news has given everyone here a tremendous lift because they know they have the opportunity to achieve much more."

The ONS was formed in 1996 but government statistics have been computed at Newport since the 1970s. Back then the site was a distant back-office for the DTI. Soon it will become a national nerve centre.