Immigration

"Every time Mr Howard opens his mouth and talks about foreigners who are invading this country in the words that he does ... he is making life impossible for us," said Mr Mazandarani. "Every time Michael Howard speaks about immigration, I get abused on the streets by the general public. This issue has absolutely been the bane of my life in this country for 32 years. I'm sick and tired of having politicians inflating this issue." (...) Hannah Ward, a spokes-woman for the Refugee Council, said: "Anecdotally, it does appear that the more politicians talk about immigration issues the more hostility there is towards immigrants. It also seems that the general public's fears about immigrants goes up. It is important the issue is debated. But there is relentless hostility against immigrants. The debate must be balanced."

The day Michael Howard met his match
By Colin Brown, Deputy Political Editor and Arifa Akbar
The Independent
16 April 2005