Blair: personal control

Tony Blair has called for a balanced public debate on immigration and asylum issues.

Speaking at a Downing street press conference following a summit of key ministers and officials, the prime minister said the government would engage with voters on the issue and make more information publicly available.

And he repeatedly urged the press not to exaggerate the issues in a way that could prompt unnecessary fears about immigration.

"There has got to be a sense of balance and perspective about this because what is absolutely clear about this is the vast majority of people come in and go out of the country perfectly lawfully and in a way that is beneficial for the country and its economy," Blair said.

Top level ministers including home secretary David Blunkett, trade secretary Patricia Hewitt and constitutional affairs secretary Lord Falconer had been called into Number 10 for the meeting.

Foreign secretary Jack Straw broke off from the Queen's state visit in Paris to attend the Number 10 meeting.

But the Conservatives hit out at ministers - demanding to know whether the immigration crisis was a result of "incompetence or intent".

Voter anger

Questioned by the media, the prime minister accepted that there was public anger about the issue.

"I understand why people get angry about the issue of immigration," he said.

"If they feel that they are playing by the rules and people are coming into our country illegally or improperly they get angry about it.

"Now where there is abuse we will deal with it, but what is important is not to get to the stage...of assuming that everybody who comes into this country does so illegally or improperly."

Public debate

Among the measures announced was a pledge to allow the independent National Audit Office to monitor the official immigration and asylum statistics to allay fears that categories are being tampered with to "fiddle" the figures.

The prime minister said that while there had been a problem with the asylum system, tough government measures had largely tackled them.

On immigration, he said that while fraud should be clamped down on, it was important to ensure that Britain remained open to those who benefit the UK.

But there was a renewed pledge to tackle suspected problems relating to short term student visas and "sham" marriages.

By opening the debate to the public, the prime minister said he hoped to help people understand the "full ramifications of this debate".

"There is and should be no tolerance of abuse, but we do have to have a sensible debate about people who come to our country for perfectly legitimate reasons and actually do things that are good for Britain and its economy."

Home secretary David Blunkett added that "people who have the facts can make judgements for themselves".

Summit 'gimmick'

However, the opposition is demanding a full public inquiry into immigration abuses - slamming what it sees as "another gimmick" by Number 10.

"If the other previous summits are anything to go by, we don't hold out much hope for this one," said shadow home secretary David Davis prior to the meeting.

"The most responsible course of action would be to agree to an Independent Inquiry. Instead, the impression so far is no real sense of urgency to tackle these critical issues.

"Tony Blair and David Blunkett should take responsibility for this mess. We want real action, not headline grabbing stunts."