Migration can lead to a brain drain but it depends upon the nature of migration. The return of migrations with new skills can offset the loss and may lead to a brain gain.”Britain does not feature in the 10 countries with the highest migrant totals. Among the myths was a claim that migrants were “flocking in by boat and plane” on 1 May, when Britain opened its borders to the 10 new EU accession countries, he said. Fears that Britain would be “swamped” by benefit scroungers from poor Eastern European countries have proved to be “groundless myths”, David Blunkett claimed last night.
The Home Secretary published a snapshot of immigration figures for May and June, showing a total of 24,000 ­ including 14,400 who were already in this country illegally ­ had signed a register for work since the accession of 10 EU countries.Home Office data also said only 8,000 people from the eight former Communist states arrived in the UK and signed on to a workers’ register during May and June.Mr Blunkett, who said he kept a file of media cuttings in his desk drawer at the Home Office, claimed the figures proved the worst fears were unfounded. His decision appeared to echo the arguments of critics, who claimed that siting accommodation centres in out-of-town areas would leave asylum-seekers isolated.. David Blunkett’s plans to build a network of massive asylum centres in remote areas of the country was never a good idea.”Mr Prescott ruled the RAF Newton site was not well served by public transport and would damage the green belt.

Only one site, in Bicester, Oxfordshire, has won planning permission. But today, Cherwell District Council will challenge that decision in the High Court.Earlier this year ministers dropped plans for another centre in Gosport, Hampshire, after a wave of opposition.The Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, Mark Oaten, said: “The Government’s attempts to create centres up and down the country appear to be in tatters, with one cabinet minister shooting down the wishes of another. Up to 750 asylum-seekers would be held in each of the centres, which would have in-house health and educational facilities, for up to six months while their claims were assessed. They would get a small allowance and be free to come and go.Yesterday’s decision left a question mark over the flagship policy, with two of the three sites abandoned or rejected. Proposals for a network of accommodation centres to house hundreds of asylum-seekers were in disarray last night after plans to convert a former RAF base were vetoed by John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister.
He rejected a planning application to turn the former RAF Newton base in Bingham near Nottingham into a specialist centre for claimants.David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, announced plans for four asylum centres three years ago to take the pressure of dealing with asylum-seekers off the South-east. The law would give Muslims the same legal protection as Jews and Sikhs.. The row overshadowed his announcement yesterday that he is to resurrect plans to create a new criminal offence of inciting racial hatred.Mr Blunkett said he would introduce legislation “as soon as possible” to outlaw attacks on religious groups.

The controversial powers, bringing incitement to religious hatred in line with race-hate laws, were struck out of emergency anti-terror legislation three years ago by the House of Lords. I hope the message will go out loud and clear that we will not tolerate outright racists in Britain.”David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said that he would attempt to ban Mr Qaradawi if he was shown “to be dangerous”. He told Mr Blair at Prime Minister’s Questions: “When I was Home Secretary, I used my powers to ban people whose presence here was not conducive to the public good. Why doesn’t your Home Secretary do the same?”Mr Blair said that the case would be kept under “very strict review” but added that any exclusions had to be lawful.

David Winnick, the Labour MP for Walsall North, said: “This country is contaminated by the presence of such a creature He should be kicked out. “We are totally opposed, as is everyone, to people coming to this country and using it as a platform for views in support of terrorism or extremism of any sort at all,” he said. The cleric fuelled the controversy over his visit by defending suicide bombings on BBC2’s Newsnightlast night. “This is not suicide, it is martyrdom in the name of God,” he said.