'Suspect immigrants' claim denied

Mr Howard was speaking as he launched the Tory party manifesto

The Home Office has denied telling immigration officers to temporarily admit people carrying suspect papers.

Tory leader Michael Howard said people who previously would have been detained were now being let into the UK and told to report back after 48 hours.

The Home Office said there had been no policy change and anyone thought to pose a security risk was detained.

Both the Tories and Lib Dems want a separate border police. Labour says it is tightening immigration controls.

In response to allegations made during the Conservatives' manifesto launch, a Home Office spokesman said: "There has been no change in immigration policy on granting temporary admission.

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"The circumstances of each individual case are carefully considered by an immigration officer before temporary admission is granted.

"Passengers who arrive at any airport are never granted temporary admission if it is believed that they are a security risk or a threat to society."

The Tories first made the claims made two weeks ago, based on an article in the News of the World.

'Nefarious purposes'

Party chairman Liam Fox said the chief constable of Avon and Somerset Police had personally told him the policy had changed.

The Conservatives have made immigration a key election issue, pledging annual immigration quotas, bonds for temporary workers and offshore processing of asylum claims.

On Monday, Mr Howard said immigration officers at some airports had been told to allow people with suspect papers to enter the UK "in the hope they will come back and report at the end of those 48 hours".

They [the Conservatives] are not out to solve the immigration problem, they are out to exploit it John Reid Health secretary

"These are people in relation to whom there is a suspicion that they are coming into the country, that they are tricking their way into the country, possibly for nefarious purposes," he said."

Avon and Somerset police would confirm the claim, he said.

In a statement, the force said: "We are concerned about the new procedures and the possible implications of it.

"As a force we have a duty of care to people found to have entered this country illegally in our area and we will continue to work closely with the UK Immigration Service to ensure the process is as secure and as painless as possible."

The force has not been specific about which new procedures it means.

The Home Office says that, up to 2004, there were police detention facilities at Weston-super-Mare where immigrants deemed suspicious could be held.

Those facilities had since closed but there were alternative facilities at what was known as the Immigration Detention Estate.

The spokesman said temporary admission has been allowed since the 1971 Immigration Act, with decisions left to individual immigration officers.

Funding concerns?

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats said the Tories would under-fund the immigration service.

Health Secretary John Reid said the Conservatives would remove billions of pounds used to fund the policing of UK borders.

He said the party was "not out to solve the immigration problem, they are out to exploit it".

For the Liberal Democrats, Vincent Cable said there should be a unified national border force to police the borders.

"But we also believe immigration, properly managed, can be a positive influence on the British economy."