IMMIGRATION

Jack Straw has caused some controversy with his comments that he has asked those Muslim women who wear veils to remove them when meeting him at his constituency surgeries. He has said that he feels ‘uncomfortable’ speaking to someone whose face he cannot see.

He has further criticised the practice of being a ‘visible statement of separation and difference’.

Jack Straw has previously been noted for his political correctness, most recently in his condemnation of the Danish cartoonists and his refusal to condemn the Muslim protests outside the Danish embassy.

Mr Straw has been criticised by the usual suspects and also the Liberal Democrats and senior Tories too. Oliver Letwin, the Tory policy director, said that it would be ‘a dangerous doctrine’ to start telling people how to dress. Sayeeda Warsi, a Tory vice chairman, said:

‘It’s not long ago in this country that white, middle-aged men were telling us how long our skirts should be. Now they are telling us how long our veils should be.’

Also the Bishop of Durham has criticised Mr Straw.

Meanwhile, we are told that Labour has changed its stance on immigration. Apparently, Labour has abandoned its purely economic argument for immigration and is to tell a new advisory panel on the issuing of work permits that it must also take the affect of immigration on social services into account. John Reid, the Home Secretary, has said:

‘It isn’t fair, or sensible, if in assessing immigration levels we don’t take into account the effects of immigration on the schools, and hospitals and housing.’

Labour has consistently denied that there was any upper limit on immigration at all.

This momentous policy shift, we are told, occurred ‘in unnoticed remarks to Labour colleagues at his party’s annual conference’.

Oh yeah.

The Labour party conference ended more than 10 days ago. We are told, it would seem, by some unaccredited source, that this fundamental shift in a policy of such importance has happened in some unidentified remarks and it has taken 10 days before anyone realised what had happened.

We are being taken for fools!

A more likely scenario is that some spin doctor is feeding a gullible press spin in order to manipulate the news headlines and make Labour appear responsible on immigration.

Meanwhile, the stories emerging as to the expected tidal wave of immigrants from Rumania and Bulgaria continue to change almost by the day. Either Labour will take those measures necessary to stop this further wave of mass immigration - or they will not.

It has now been revealed, that in addition to the forecast 600,000 Rumanians and Bulgarians who will migrate unless they are stopped, there are in excess of another 300,000 ethnic Rumanians in Moldova who have rushed to get Rumanian passports, who will also be heading our way unless they are stopped. Moldova is not even an EU member.

That is another 1million immigrants! It is known that many tens of thousands of these are criminals and gangsters. Moldova and Bulgaria are particularly affected by organised crime.

We do not need spin. There is no need for Mr Reid to be dropping hints, winking, nudging or putting out spin that he might do something about Labour’s commitment to mass immigration.

The days when the general public took any notice of hints and winks and spin etc on immigration policy or long gone.

Either Mr Reid will stop these 1million immigrants entering this country - or he will not. Labour’s policy is defined by what they DO, not by what unaccredited spin they circulate in the press.

Mr Straw has missed the point in his remarks about veils. It is not that there are a few women who choose to wear veils that is the problem. The problem is that mass immigration is rapidly increasing the growth of the Muslim population and the wearing of veils merely makes the population growth more visible.

It is mass immigration that is the problem.