Refugee situation is being used by the Government to stoke fear - Yorkshire Post Letters

The whole refugee situation is being used by the Tory government to stoke fear and division.

We have been led to believe for years that people are coming here in their droves to place pressure on our NHS, benefits system and jobs.

The government does not want us to see the benefits of immigration, which have mainly been very positive for this country.

The government would have us believe that our country is under threat. It suits their political purposes and they seem to have no interest in properly addressing the issue of small boat crossings.

Time to dispel a few myths. The first is that most of the people who come to these shores are economic migrants.

This is just not true. Three quarters of people who seek asylum in this country are actually granted refugee status.

The second myth is that it is illegal to make the journey across the Channel in small boats. It is not illegal to seek asylum in this country, even by this route. The fact that so many come this way reflects the fact that there are very few safe routes to claim asylum in the UK.

The UK was a founding signatory of the UN Refugee Convention and people seeking asylum must be given a fair chance to put their case.

A third misconception is that refugees can stay in France and therefore should not be allowed to make the journey to the UK.

People who have family ties in the UK and speak the language may feel a strong connection to the UK. Many who risk their lives to come have fled from war torn countries where they fear for their lives, or their culture or sexuality makes it dangerous for them to stay where they are.

The answers are not simple but it would help enormously if there were more safe routes to enable genuine refugees.

Another solution to the problem of unfilled vacancies in the UK is to let asylum seekers work straight away but there are restrictions around this at the moment.

The slowness of the asylum process is also creating problems of overcrowding at processing centres and the stoking up of hatred by those at the head of government has already created dangerous tensions for those seeking sanctuary. These are people, not statistics.