The UK is trying to reduce the number of asylum seekers

Brazil, Sri Lanka and South Africa are to be added to the list of countries whose citizens cannot remain in the UK to mount an appeal if their asylum application is rejected, the Home Office said.

A total of seven new "safe" countries are being added to the Home Office list taking the total to 24 on the government's "white list".

People from these countries will be fast-tracked through the Oakington reception centre and returned to their country if their claim is certified as "clearly unfounded".

They join countries such as Albania, Bulgaria, Jamaica, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro.

The Refugee Council opposes having such a list of so-called safe countries where it is assumed people do not have a right to asylum.

The last time the list was extended a spokeswoman said it was extremely difficult to mount a credible appeal against an asylum ruling from outside the UK.

Sangatte camps?

Earlier this week the UK rejected suggestions it was planning to send asylum seekers to Sangatte-style camps outside the EU while their applications are processed.

Asylum Minister Beverley Hughes told MPs that Britain was working with its European partners towards setting up protection zones in war-torn areas.

Her comments came after the United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) expressed serious concerns about British proposals to process asylum seekers' applications at centres outside the EU.

But Ms Hughes told MPs: "We have made steady progress in Europe with our proposals for zones of protection.

"In particular we welcome the contributions from the UNHCR and the European Commission that have recently published a positive contribution about our proposals.

She added: "We have certainly got no current plans at all to process asylum seekers on the borders of the EU as some of the newspapers have been reporting and certainly no prospect of any camps - Sangatte-style or otherwise.

Human rights fears?

"We want to take forward ideas for regional protection processing which has the support of the UNHCR."

The UNHCR had earlier said the plan to build a series of holding camps could create multiple Sangattes - the controversial French refugee centre which was shut down earlier this year.

Documents seen by the BBC show the agency fears the centres could infringe people's human rights and act as magnets for asylum seekers and people smugglers.

But a UNHCR spokesman said the documents were "somewhat out of date", with the agency pushing for new processing centres inside the EU.

The UN documents say that Britain is looking at establishing protection zones, including off-territory processing for asylum seekers.

The zones could be set up in countries ranging from Turkey to Morocco, Croatia, the Ukraine and northern Somalia.