Immigration Sir: In your issue of 19 June Amit Roy
says that it is not true that a significant proportion of immigrants are here illegally. Yet Praful Patel, secretary of the committee on UK citizenship, estimated in October 1970 that the number of illegal immigrants living in Britain at that time (over five and a half years ago) was no less than 80,000. Nor will it do to say—as is quite true—that in the last few years net emigration has exceeded net immigration, since this makes people worry even more as they reflect on the consequent increasing proportion of immigrants in'their midst. Thirdly, I am not convinced that rectrictions on immigration should apply to all entrants, as Amit Roy argues. Don't other countries have favoured quotas? Many ethnic groups—not 'better' than Asians—have had fewer problems fitting into British life than recent immigrants from the New Commonwealth, whatever the reasons for this may be. I've little enough confidence in the ability of our governments to tackle old problems, let alone new ones. As Amit Roy says, after serious racial troubles our government's incompetence— which encourages racist extremists—has become so manifest that the Pakistani Ambassador feels obliged to give the Foreign Office a 'rough time', and the governments of the subcontinent are having to offer to do our work for us, so far as preventing abuses is concerned.
Bernard V. Slater (former member of the executive
committee, Bradford Community
Relations Council), 21 Marriner's Drive, Bradford 9
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