Carey calls on Brown to restrict migration

Gordon Brown should make enforcing stricter controls on migration one of his priorities as Prime Minister, he said.

Talking about his hopes for the Brown-led government, Lord Carey said: 'At home, the issue of immigration will not go away and I hope that he will impose stricter controls on those entering the United Kingdom.'

He said there should be 'clemency' in the case of some of those coming to the UK as asylum seekers. On Mr Brown's plans to encourage immigrants to integrate, he added: 'I note he is very concerned about British identity. I hope he will not forget the importance of Christian identity at the very heart of being a part of the United Kingdom.'

His comments will be interpreted as an attempt to force the Government to place religion at the heart of its migration policy planning.

Such a high-profile intervention will increase the pressure upon Mr Brown to explain his position on immigration, and introduce curbs on numbers. Since 1997, Labour's 'open door' policy has seen the population increase by 1.6million. The Treasury has been one of the main beneficiaries, with cheap migrant labour helping to keep inflation low.

But while the economy has grown, schools, hospitals and other public services have come under intense pressure.

It has led to immigration becoming one of the top concerns of voters. Two-thirds believe there are too many migrants living here, while eight out of ten want tough restrictions on the benefits available to new arrivals, according to a recent Harris Interactive poll.

David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, is writing to Mr Brown to call for a public statement on his position. The letter reads: 'As Chancellor-you are already partly responsible-for the "open doors" immigration-policy implemented by this Government.

'This approach has failed to confront today's issues because it has allowed economic expediency to override sound social policy.

'At its current levels, immigration now adds one per cent to the population every two years. We need to build two hundred new houses a day to meet its demands.'

But Tim Finch of the Refugee Council questioned why Lord Carey had intervened on the subject when 'controls on immigration and asylum were so strong already'.

He added: 'Lord Carey would seem to be out of step with the Church of England and other Christian and faith groups which have been in the forefront of calls for more generosity to be shown to migrants.'

Lord Carey was speaking on Radio Four's Sunday programme, alongside other religious leaders, about his hopes for Mr Brown's first years inside Downing Street.

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari of the Muslim Council of Britain said Mr Brown must restore the country's faith in democracy, which was damaged by Britain invading Iraq on the basis of a 'dodgy dossier'.

Dr Jagdish Sharma of the Hindu Council UK urged more to be done to protect the country's 'religious and cultural diversity'.