The UN's commissioner for refugees has accused some politicians and newspaper editors of "wilfully distorting" the asylum issue.

Ruud Lubbers expressed how he was "appalled at the exaggerations" and claimed there was an "abusive group at work".

Writing in the House Magazine, the former prime minister of the Netherlands called for a more balanced and equitable approach to the issue of asylum.

He also accepted that the issue "remains a hot political topic in some European countries".

"There are two reasons for this. Firstly, there are some very genuine concerns about the way the asylum system is being managed; about the role of people smugglers; and about those who misuse the system by falsely portraying themselves as asylum seekers," he wrote.

"Secondly, there is another abusive group at work - including some politicians, pressure groups and newspaper editors - who are wilfully distorting the issue. I am appalled at the exaggerations, statistical manipulation and scare-mongering that have proliferated recently."

Lubbers warned the global nature of the problem meant it could not be solved by countries such as Britain acting alone.

"Unilateral actions by a single state, or even a small club of states, will not bear fruit unless they are acceptable to other countries around the world, particularly developing countries that host huge refugee populations, sometimes for decades," he wrote.

"These countries will need to be convinced that the richer countries will share the economic, social and political burdens imposed by large movements of refugees. If they feel the rich states are only interested in passing the buck back to them, they will not co-operate."

To help move the political issues forward, he revealed that the UNHCR will put forward new proposals at the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Dublin on January 22.

He also called on governments to spend more on aid in poor countries to reduce the flow of refugees."The amount now spent on supporting refugees in their regions of origin is woefully inadequate. Little wonder that refugees - genuine refugees - lose hope and head towards Europe," he wrote.

"Their original hosts, with inadequate financial support, are unlikely to encourage them to stay. Nor are they likely to welcome them back, just because Europe doesn't want them either."