The Archbishop of Canterbury has said it is "perfectly reasonable" to lock up asylum seekers whilst their claims are processed.

His comments, which will further fuel the asylum debate, came after the opposition called for all asylum seekers to be detained until it had been assessed whether they pose a terror threat.

Interviewed in the Sunday Times, Dr Rowan Williams warned that badly managed asylum processes could create a "foreign presence" in the UK.

And he said ministers could not allow public fears about the move to undermine security.

"There's got to be a security agenda. It's a very unsafe world and there's no way around that," he said.

"The challenge for any responsible government is to be absolutely serious about security."

But he warned that asylum seekers could only be detained if the government made the process quicker and more efficient.

He said it would be wrong to keep refugees "locked up in hermetically sealed compartments for an indefinite period".

His comments drew an angry response from groups representing asylum seekers.

Leigh Daynes, a spokesman for Refugee Action, said: "There is no justification for it whatsoever and I would be surprised if it was a view shared by many of his bishops.

"Such comments are very unhelpful and what we need is our politicians and religious leaders to take part in informed debate based on fact."