BRITAIN should discourage asylum seekers from coming here and ensure more of them are deported, an MP has claimed.

Mark Field (Con Cities of London and Westminster) said: "A continued refusal to get a grip on our immigration system risks causing conflict in British communities that will haunt us in the decades to come."

And the MP claimed that those who try to silence debate about immigration by "crying racism" are helping extremists such as the BNP.

He made the comments in a House of Commons debate, in which a number of MPs expressed concern about the state of the immigration system.

Labour MP Stephen Pound (Lab Ealing North) warned that there was a "disconnect" between the views expressed by politicians, who were reluctant to call for any limits to migration, and the views of the public.

Mr Pound said: "We seem not to be in tune with the majority of people in this country. In that darkness, extremism grows."

However, he praised the Government for introducing reforms to the system, including expelling illegal immigrants and introducing an "Australian-style" points-based system for people hoping to work in the UK.

Under the system, potential immigrants are awarded points depending on the skills they have, and only those with enough points are allowed to enter.

He said: "I do believe in a managed, balanced migration system, wherever the migrants come from. We are a European nation and part of Europe, and I am proud to be a European and a Londoner."

Mr Field told MPs: "Those who seek to silence debate on this topic by crying racism should be under no illusions about the nature of the current system.

"It is, I am afraid, often confused, inequitable, unjust and so administratively chaotic that not only is the British taxpayer being failed but legitimate migrants and illegal immigrants alike are often being mistreated."

In the past week, he had dealt with three cases of people who had been denied asylum in the UK but stayed anyway, he said.

"It seems to me that we could also look to stem the number of asylum seekers who come here as political refugees, or indeed to restrict the major immigration influx coming from the EU. "

Immigration Minister Phil Woolas told MPs: "Britain's migration policy needs to strike the correct balance, weighing the economic benefits with the impacts on communities and public services."

Related links: Full House of Commons debate.

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