PAUL Brierley has a cheek attacking Labour's reform of the asylum system. The Last Tory Government left our immigration and asylum system in a complete shambles. After the election, Labour inherited from the Tories a backlog of over 50,000 cases, which were still awaiting an initial decision, and an additional 22,000 cases which were in the appeals queue.

They left an immigration department which was demoralised and unmodernised. In November 1996, under Tory Immigration Minister Ann Widdecombe, an immediate ban on permanent recruitment and promotion had been imposed. Faced with real cuts to their budget, officials were projecting job losses of 1,200 out of 2,270 at Immigration Headquarters in Croydon by 1999/2000.

Arrangements for the support of asylum seekers were completely chaotic. Their 1996 Asylum and Immigration Act, steered through Parliament by Ann Widdecombe, left thousands with no means of support, forcing local councils to pick up the tab when the courts ruled that they still had a duty to support destitute asylum seekers under the 1948 National Assistance Act. The result was a disastrous two-tier system of support - with some asylum seekers allowed to claim DSS cash benefits and others receiving support in kind.

Labour should take no lessons from the Tories, whose incompetence has created the mess that Labour is now clearing up. Furthermore it is obvious that Paul Brierley has no knowledge of the subject he wrote about, and perhaps should research his material in future.

C Whitby

Barnfield Close, Egerton

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.