The home secretary has been accused of "stirring up" racism after intervening in the allocation of a lottery grant to a charity that helps asylum seekers challenge deportation orders.

The Community Fund yesterday said that it had received "very many disturbing phone calls in which callers have been abusive about asylum seekers" after David Blunkett raised concerns over a £340,000 grant to the National Coalition of Deportation Campaigns.

A probe into the cash grant has been launched by culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, amid ministerial concerns that the group is political or encourages people to break the law.

The Mail today reports that the NCDC is supporting the cases of an Islamic cleric said to be a danger to national security and a couple convicted of a double bombing in London.

"The public is rightly furious that asylum seekers are being favoured while genuinely deserving causes have had their applications for lottery grants thrown out," opines the newspaper.