Mr Kunzru wrote The Impressionist

Mr Greenslade, who is also a professor of journalism, acknowledged newspapers could not sell ideas which readers disagreed with but argued that press articles about asylum "played to the gallery".

Speaking at the annual general meeting of the Refugee Council, he highlighted the way in which a climate of hysteria could be created in which politicians were eventually forced to react.

Mr Greenslade gave the example of how a rash of stories about dog attacks eventually created a climate in which politicians rushed through the Dangerous Dogs Act, which became law in 1991.

It is widely seen as an unsatisfactory piece of legislation.

Attacks

Mr Greenslade said: "Imagine this same process ... that any story that reflects negatively in any way on a refugee has a ready market in Fleet Street.

"They start a feeding frenzy and then the feeding frenzy takes off."

Mr Greenslade's was joined by novelist Hari Kunzru, who wrote the Impressionist.

He said: "I find myself increasingly appalled by the way in which the media works to create a climate of fear and mistrust of outsiders.

"In such a climate individuals are encouraged to act on their prejudices and politicians are encouraged to take on populist legislation which really doesn't help to solve the problems in our system - but it may win them votes."

Relevant label?

Mr Kunzru said that the UK had legislated against "hate speech" and that legislation had worked reasonably well.

"But what I'm interested in unpicking as a novelist is the amount of communication that takes place on a non-declarative level.

"The information that it was an asylum seeker that ran over a child while driving without licence and insurance is factually correct, perhaps, but the repetition of his immigration status and the importance of his immigration status to his driving ability is unclear.

"The old media trick of always mentioning the race of the mugger when he's black and not mentioning it when he's white ... is being increasingly focused on new immigrants on refugees and on asylum seekers."

Social ills?

He argued that the very phrase asylum seeker was not in use a few years ago but had now become the focal point for all kinds of "social ills".

Ahead of the two guest speakers being called, Refugee Council chief executive Maeve Sherlock delivered her annual report to her membership.

She said that "despite what they read in the papers" the British were "decent people who would not turn away someone in need of help".

Ms Sherlock - who took up her position in August 2003 - said the way refugees were portrayed failed to acknowledge "an inconsistent and, at times, inhumane asylum system".

But she added that she felt inspired by the people the Refugee Council sought to serve.

"They are survivors, ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances," she said.

"They are people who have come through all the odds, who have managed to get away from hideous circumstances and escape to the UK. They have shown it can be done and that is incredibly inspiring."