Blunkett defends asylum system

David Blunkett faced demands for an immediate overhaul of the "chaotic" asylum system yesterday after the disclosure that the man at the centre of the Manchester police raid had been on the run from immigration officers for more than a year.

The Conservatives called on the Home Secretary to extend the vetting of people seeking to enter Britain; the Liberal Democrats also called for a new joint force of customs officers, immigration officials and ports police to stop terrorists being smuggled into Britain.

The outcry grew yesterday after Mr Blunkett said the man police had been looking for during Tuesday night's raid had been in the country "on and off for about four years".

Mr Blunkett told MPs he had sought asylum and been refused, taken his case to appeal, absconded and disappeared, then been tracked by security services. Senior government sources said the man absconded in 2001 after spending three years trying to secure asylum in Britain. But they played down suggestions he had evaded the authorities.

Mr Blunkett insisted: "This is the real issue. He wasn't let go, wasn't forgotten about, was tracked by the security services to the point where we were about to arrest and deal with him." He said everyone channelled through the immigration system was checked against a "warning index" compiled by the security services, but said ministers would consider refining the system.

Oliver Letwin, the shadow Home Secretary, said the case raised fundamental questions over Britain's "chaotic" asylum system. He said: "I regret to say there is ample evidence people are getting through the asylum system who do not have the best interests of the country at heart and who intend to pursue terrorist activities.

"What is the Home Secretary going to do over coming weeks and months urgently to intensify security vetting of those who seek to enter this country? That is clearly the question this House needs to ask and it's clearly the question the Home Secretary needs to answer."

Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, also called for tighter border controls, calling for ports police, immigration officials and customs officers to be merged into a new body to control Britain's borders.

A furious Mr Blunkett accused the Conservatives of leaving the asylum system "on the verge of breakdown" and insisted that the security services had succeeding in tracking terrorist suspects.

He said: "It is precisely the actions of MI5 and special branch leading to these arrests that show how well our system is working."