Churchill renews appeal for tighter immigration control

THE CONSERVATIVE backbencher at the centre of the recent controversy over immigration yesterday repeated his call for tougher curbs, insisting that Britain would ignore the lessons of Germany at its peril.

Dismissing the outrage that followed a similar speech six weeks ago, Winston Churchill, the MP for Davyhulme, said: 'If I was stunned by the hysterical, knee-jerk reaction to my remarks in the media, I was bowled over by the incredible volume of support I have received from the public at large in the form of more than 7,500 letters, running at an amazing 100-1 in support.'

The revisiting of what Mr Churchill called the 'no-go' area of British politics came in an address to members of the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen at the Commons last night. 'What is especially noticeable is the way in which, while retaining its religion and customs, the Jewish community has so successfully assimilated into the British way of life,' he said.

Citing examples of correspondence, including letters from black and Asian Britons, supporting his speech in Bolton on 28 May, Mr Churchill said: 'If we are to curb the scourge of racism we must first and foremost stop adding to the problem. The Government must act - and urgently - if we are to avoid the sort of ethnic violence we have witnessed in Germany, or worse.'

He continued: 'We must not ignore or sweep under the carpet the impact on our society and the British way of life of the arrival in our midst over the past 40 years of three to 4 million immigrants from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.'

While immigrants amounted to only 5-6 per cent of the population, he said they constituted 'a noticeably larger proportion of the next generation' among schoolchildren.