Pakistani-born Bishop says Britain must address immigration injustice

THE FORMER Bishop of Rochester has warned the Government needs to address the injustice of Britain's failed immigration policy.

‘There needs to be a single immigration policy so that Britain has control of who comes, what work they do and how that answers (the) needs that Britain has,’ he said, adding, ‘Other countries do these things.’

Commonwealth

Michael Nazir-Ali, who holds dual citizenship of Pakistan and Britain, claimed Britain’s adherence to European Union migration policy means border chiefs are forced to ignore Britain's historical links with the Commonwealth.

The Church of England cleric believes the call from the public to reduce net migration figures means deserving cases for asylum from outside the EU are being refused or ignored in the rush to reduce immigration figures.

Complexities

And the former Bishop even suggested Christians hoping to flee on-going conflict in the Middle East are getting a particularly raw deal from migration chiefs who fail to understand the complexities of the Christian faith in the region.

Dr Nazir-Ali explained: ‘Quite often immigration tribunals will agree that evangelical Christians in Iran are in danger but not Anglican Christians because Anglican Christians don't evangelise. It's that sort of thing that you get.

‘And on Pakistan there is a huge misunderstanding with regards to the Christian population.

‘With Egypt - when Egyptian Christians come here they are often interviewed by Muslim UK border staff. The answer the border staff give is, 'our staff are impartial'.

‘But if you are fleeing persecution, no matter how well intentioned you might be, you are not going to be exactly natural in that situation.’

Limits

On the more general issue of the migration concerns facing Britain the Bishop said, 'Every country has limits to how many people it can take. Britain is no different. The Government has an obligation to the people who are here already for stability, economic prosperity and good community relations.

‘At the same time I think the removal of restrictions for EU nationals has meant there has been special attention to non-EU nationals because this is the only way you can control immigration. You can't control EU immigration.’

He added: ‘And that's not just because the idea is to keep them out.

‘If the Government says they are going to reduce immigration by tens of thousands of people who are they going to touch because they can't touch the EU nationals.'

Dr Nazir-Ali, who is the Church's first and only Asian bishop, received death threats himself after warning in 2008 that parts of the country had been turned into ‘no-go’ areas for non-Muslims.

The controversial cleric has been unafraid to speak out since being appointed as Bishop of Rochester in 1994, and has risen to become a leading champion of traditional Christianity in Britain.