Hard Labour | 10 February 2001
From our UK edition
It is not untypical of the character of the Home Secretary that, having accused the Tories of 'playing the race card' over asylum-seekers, he should himself launch an assault upon refugees on the eve of a general-election campaign. Under Mr Straw's proposals, it would seem that people fleeing from foreign dictators may soon no longer be allowed to turn up on our shores uninvited; they will be obliged to apply for refugee status before they get here. Asylum-seekers who come from a list of 'safe' countries face having their applications rejected out of hand.
