Archbishop steps into asylum debate

Dr Rowan Williams said in an interview with the Sunday Times he believed this was reasonable, so long as their applications were processed faster than at present.

The idea, proposed by the Conservatives, has already been rejected by the Home Secretary David Blunkett as impractical.

" It's a very unsafe world and there's no way around that "
Dr Rowan Williams

Campaigners for asylum seekers have criticised Dr Williams's comments as "unhelpful" and "impractical".

Dr Williams also made clear his views on a possible war with Iraq and commented on the possibility of a church marriage for the Prince of Wales.

He acknowledged there was growing public concern about the threat posed by terrorism.

He said any responsible government had to be absolutely serious about security - which meant holding asylum seekers in secure accommodation would be acceptable, provided their applications were processed properly.

Dr Williams said those who posed a threat were a minority among many vulnerable people, but even one getting through was too many.

Informed debate

The charity Refugee Action said it was shocked by Dr William's support for routinely detaining asylum seekers.

Spokesman Leigh Daynes said: "Detention could lead to even more problems in the future in integrating them in to communities precisely because they have been locked away.

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

Roger Bingham, of human rights group Liberty, said: "This is not a suggestion that's going to tackle any of the problems of asylum, terrorism or racism.

"I do not see it as a sensible or practicable proposal."

Last week, the Tories signalled a commitment to vast new spending on Britain's asylum system to make it less vulnerable to exploitation by terrorists.

Mr Duncan Smith said all asylum seekers should be housed in secure centres until vetted by MI5 and MI6.

Britain should also negotiate changes to the international human rights treaties so terror suspects who try to claim refuge in the UK can be deported, he said.

The archbishop also said he was using "every channel" to promote his stance against a war that will cause a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Iraq.

Divorce And he commented on the possibility of a church marriage for the Prince of Wales.

He said under a new church policy of remarrying divorced people, it would still be possible to say no to Prince Charles.

The interview follows shortly after a summit between Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush after which both men warned "time was running out" for Saddam Hussein.

Dr Williams told the Sunday Times he had counselled Mr Blair in private and would continue to do so if there was a war.

Racism fears

But his desire for peace is clear.

He said the situation inside Iraq was fragile and desperate - with high infant mortality and malnourishment - and he would continue to question whether military action was the answer.

Dr Williams, who is widely seen as a liberal on social issues, warned that without adequate preparation among local communities and other support, an influx of asylum seekers could be seen as a "foreign presence", stirring racism.

He said secure accommodation was acceptable to help prevent the entry of terrorists disguised as asylum seekers.

But he added: "We are in danger of not providing the resources to process in a way that doesn't mean we have people locked up in hermetically sealed compartments for an indefinite period."