Every council asked to take in refugees

EVERY COUNCIL in England and Wales has been asked to house asylum- seekers to help to reduce the burden on Channel ports. Sir Jeremy Beecham, chairman of the Local Government Association, has written to all 400 of them after weekend violence between asylum-seekers and residents in Dover left 11 people with knife wounds.

Plans are being made to evacuate 500 of Dover's estimated 1,000 asylum- seekers to the north and north-west of England, The Independent revealed yesterday.

But some 5,000 refugees are living in small hotels and guest houses along the Kent coast and rising tension with local people has also been reported in Folkestone and Margate. More refugees are arriving in the area each week.

Two charities, Migrant Helpline and the Refugee Arrival Project, say they can no longer cope with the influx of asylum-seekers the LGA said was "engulfing" the Kent ports.

Sir Jeremy's plan would enable almost all of the Kent-based refugees who wish to be moved to be relocated in more suitable areas. Refugee organisations are anxious they be allowed to stay in multi-ethnic towns and cities with access to immigration lawyers.

Initially, the Dover asylum- seekers - predominantly Iraqi and Iranian political dissidents and Kurds as well as Kosovars - are likely to be sent to Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool.

In his letter, Sir Jeremy said: "The LGA strongly condemns the attacks which took place [in Dover] and it is vital that we work together to try and alleviate the pressures which have led to this unacceptable behaviour."

He warns that the number of refugees coming through ports is likely to increase and it is "increasingly difficult" to find suitable places for them in the south-east.

He added: "With pressure and local tensions increasing in some parts of the South-east, I am writing to ask if you would be in a position to offer empty stock, council or Registered Social Landlord, to accommodate asylum-seeking families."

The LGA has appointed Mike Boyle as the head of the new Asylum Seekers Appeal. Mr Boyle successfully co- ordinated the programme to settle Kosovo Albanian refugees in northern England, the East Midlands and Scotland this spring. In the wake of the Nato bombing of Kosovo, local authorities offered 20,000 places for airlifted refugees, but only 4,346 were brought before the end of hostilities.

The availability of such a large number of places suggests the growing crisis in Kent could be defused quickly. Several hundred Kosovo Albanians have already been flown home, freeing the emergency accommodation that had housed them during the military campaign.

The Government has come under fire from the opposition for failing to act sooner on warnings given by Kent County Council that the region was turning into a "tinderbox" because of tension between refugees and residents.

In Dover yesterday, Kent police drafted in extra officers to keep the peace and said they would remain on duty "for the foreseeable future".

A team of 20 officers has been assigned to investigating the weekend's violence and three men - all asylum-seekers - have been arrested and released on police bail.

David Aaronovitch,

Review, page 3