'Asylum' a negative word - report

The Commission wants to change the perception of people seeking sanctuary

The word "asylum" should be phased out in regards to foreigners seeking safe haven in Britain and replaced with "sanctuary", a report suggests.

An Independent Asylum Commission poll found 18% of people viewed "asylum" positively, and 33% see it negatively.

A Commission spokesman said there was a "grave misunderstanding" of the term.

In the survey of 1,000 people aged over 17, which was conducted by Efeedback, more than 81% of those surveyed felt "sanctuary" had positive connotations.

There seems no way back now for the term 'asylum seeker' Mark Easton BBC News The history of the term "asylum"

The poll also revealed that 31.3% of those surveyed most associated the word "asylum" with a place for the mentally ill rather than with safety for the persecuted.

Ahead of the Commission's first annual report, a spokesman for the body said: "The commissioners advise those wishing to communicate effectively with the public to avoid using the term 'asylum' or 'asylum seeker' if they wish to convey messages about people seeking sanctuary from persecution."

Meanwhile, Ifath Nawaz, president of the Association of Muslim Lawyers and co-chair of the Independent Asylum Commission, urged the public to "understand and support sanctuary and the system that provides it for those fleeing persecution".