Clare Short: Ideas promoted by cabinet colleagues 'very silly'

Tony Blair has told other EU leaders that extremism will rise across Europe unless they back controversial plans for a renewed crackdown on illegal immigration.

After opposition to plans linking European development aid to measures to halt illegal migration from third world countries the British prime minister - backed by the EU presidency, Spain - is ready to compromise.

The beat to retreat also follows divisions at home, with cabinet minister Clare Short describing a punitive aid donor relationship with migrant source countries - often among the world's poorest - as "morally repugnant".

Briefing journalists ahead of the Spanish summit, Blair was unapologetic about the UK's tough approach - claiming that it was what the people wanted.

"We need to show at Seville that those of us around the Council table are not only aware of the practical concerns that our citizens have in Europe have over asylum and immigration but we can agree at least some common practical action to tackle them," he said.

The prime minister indicated that he will tell Europe's heads of government - many still reeling from electoral upsets in France and the Netherlands - that faint hearts on immigration will "leave the field open" to less squeamish far-right parties.

"If we don't then my fear is that we leave the field open to those who don't want to solve these problems but simply want to exploit them," he said.

Blair will tell the summit that action, not words, are needed. "It is one thing to speak out against extremist parties in Europe but speaking out is meaningless frankly, if it is not backed up by practical steps to tackle the underlying issues that the extremists are exploiting," he told a Downing Street press conference.

Denying that hard-line refugee rules could pander to racists, Blair will tell EU leaders that it is fear of disorder, not anti-immigrant feeling, that fuels public concern.

He will say the asylum issue must be tackled to protect Europe's "proud" record of tolerance.

"I think it's not that people are anti-immigrant or anti-asylum seeker but they are anti-disorder, they are anti a system that doesn't't appear to have proper rules.

"And that is what we should address both at national and international level," Blair said on Thursday.

"It has to be a system that tackles illegal immigration, fosters legal migration, and preserves our proud tradition of offering sanctuary to those fleeing persecution in their own country."

But Britain and the Spanish EU presidency are set to backtrack over plans to link development aid to local action cutting illegal immigration.

Opponents have criticised Blair's approach as punitive attitude towards some of the poorest third world countries.

Earlier in the week, foreign ministers from France, Sweden, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Greece queried plans to cut development aid or suspend trade agreements.

Some EU countries would rather see an incentive-based system for countries who control migration - rather than measures which could fuel poverty and immigration in the third world.

Under proposals tabled by Spain, which are backed by Britain, all new EU trade and aid deals with "relevant countries of origin and transit" will include a condition stipulating cooperation on immigration.

Under the proposals, governments can suspend aid agreements if a "non co-operative country" refuses to implement the clause.

If passed, the new rules would oblige countries to strengthen border controls, introduce domestic legislation to tackle people traffickers and force them to reaccept nationals deported from the EU.

The move to tie aid and trade to the tough "fortress" approach of wealthy, developed countries in Europe has triggered UK cabinet splits.

Opposition to the proposals by international development secretary, Clare Short, have been characteristically frank.

In a GMTV interview, to be broadcast on Sunday, she describes the ideas - given high-profile backing by Blair, Jack Straw and David Blunkett - as a "very silly" non-starter.

"It was an idea that I'm pretty confident isn't going to run. It's really a very silly idea," she told the Sunday Programme.

Branding the prospect of cuts in EU aid to Afghanistan, used to resettle refugees and reconstruct the war-shattered country as "a piece of nonsense", Short's opposition registers a principled objection with European measures aimed at altering policy in the third world, perhaps signalling that moves to a summit consensus may not heal domestic political rifts.

"It's morally repugnant to sort of hurt the poor of the world in order to get your way with a different policy intent - but it wouldn't work either," she said.

"We should not hurt the poor of a country to try to force their government to do something we want for other purposes. That wouldn't be right."

The Liberal Democrats believe that UK support for the controversial proposals could undermine the country's international reputation.

The party's home affairs spokesman, Simon Hughes, argues "Britain's long-term reputation could be significantly influenced by the attitude Tony Blair and Jack Straw take this weekend in Seville".

"At all times, the British government should be leading the way in protecting human rights, not undermining them."

He considers the "Fortress Europe" approach to be fundamentally flawed.

"It will be a fundamental mistake if EU leaders spend time considering penalties for countries from which asylum seekers come or attempting to make the outer borders of the European Union impregnable by immigrants," he said.

"Europe's leaders should instead be focusing on trying to make the process of seeking asylum fair and equal in all of our member states, and on ensuring the humane and proper treatment of those who seek refuge within the EU."

Despite UK hopes that Jacques Chirac's new right-wing government would take a tougher anti-immigration stance, a French diplomat described aid or trade sanctions as "not very useful, and definitely not efficient".

"We are for giving more operational and financial support to third world partner countries, and not threaten them with sanctions, if they do not do what we want," a source said on Monday.

Belgium, Sweden, Luxembourg, Portugal and Greece have also expressed concerns.

"They do not want too much importance to be given to sanctions, as this could trigger the adverse effects: the population would feel penalised if sanctions are applied, and they would emigrate in even larger numbers," an EU official said on Monday.

But Blair will dismiss concerns that all measures connecting development to migration run contrary to the aid ethos.

"Let me stress that as far as European aid is concerned, we are not talking about anything, whatsoever, that would run counter to the fundamental of poverty reduction," he said on Wednesday.

He and Jack Straw will argue that an aid to asylum linkage is part and parcel of development support for poor countries.

"I would argue that tackling the poverty and instability of those countries includes removing some of the factors that encourages people to immigrate," Blair said. "Many of these countries, of course, actually need their skilled people back in their country."