Blair pledge to halve asylum numbers

Numbers of asylum seekers arriving in the UK should be halved by September this year as a result of the Government's tightening of controls, Prime Minister Tony Blair has said.

Figures due out shortly are expected to show numbers topped 100,000 for the first time in 2002, and Mr Blair has made it a key goal to reduce them.

The dramatic prediction suggests that he believes recent moves such as placing British customs officers at Calais will have a significant effect.

Home Secretary David Blunkett announced further measures to tighten up asylum procedures and prevent abuse of the system.

Mr Blunkett told the House of Commons that from next Tuesday all holders of refugee travel documents will require a visa before coming to the UK.

In an interview for this evening's BBC2 Newsnight, Mr Blair was asked how far he wanted to see asylum-seeker levels reduced from the 92,000 recorded in 2001.

He replied: "I would like to see us reduce it by 30%-40% in the next few months and I think by September of this year we should have it halved.

"I think we can get below that then, in the years to come."

Mr Blair said efforts had to be focused on stopping immigrants entering Britain illegally in the first place.

Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith dismissed the Prime Minister's view, telling the BBC1 One O'Clock News: "What he has to do is say that we will only take certain quotas. When he does that, that will be about taking real action. Right now, it is promises and targets and the Government has failed endlessly to meet any of its targets."

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