It's not only an attack on the people who are seeking political asylum here but an attack on the black and ethnic minority people living in this country.

Mike Rahmen

The Chairman of the National Union of Refugee Councils, Mike Rahmen, said that asylum seekers were very worried about their treatment.

"The people are very concerned and what is even worse is that it has raised racial tension because how do you make a distinction between someone who is a refugee in a large population of black and ethnic minority people up and down this country," he said.

"It's not only an attack on the people who are seeking political asylum here but an attack on the black and ethnic minority people living in this country."

'Tinder boxes'

Asylum seekers have often found themselves the target of violence from locals who believe refugees should not be housed in their towns.

Last year, a council leader in Kent warned that Britain's coastal towns were becoming "tinder boxes" which could explode into violence - because of the number of asylum seekers being placed there.

On Monday, British officials are appearing before the United Nations committee against racial immigration in Geneva to discuss the UK's policy on asylum seekers and how it deals with problems of racism.