David Blunkett's plan to process asylum seekers in camps outside the European Union has run into opposition from the United Nations.

The UN High Commissioner from Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, has said he would only want asylum seekers making "manifestly unfounded" claims to be sent to the centres.

Meanwhile, the prime minister has reiterated his commitment to halve the number of asylum seekers entering Britain by September.

"There has been a very, very significant improvement as a result of the legislative and other measures we have taken," said Tony Blair.