The Church of Scotland's moderator has said he was "dismayed" by Tony Blair's desire to halve the number of asylum seekers in the UK.

Finlay Macdonald, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said the prime minister should guard against forming a link between asylum and terrorism.

Refugee groups and politicians criticised Mr Blair's pledge, which he made during a BBC Newsnight programme.

A Home Office spokesman has since said the prime minister intended the comment to be viewed as an objective rather than a target.

In Scotland and the UK as a whole, we have strong traditions of decency and hospitality Finlay Macdonald Moderator of the General Assembly

Mr Blair said he wanted asylum seeker numbers cut by 30% or 40% "in the next few months".

He said he thought the numbers "should have" halved by September.

But Dr Macdonald said the prime minister's comments were unhelpful.

Speaking during a civic lunch in Aberdeen, he expressed concern about the way things were developing "in relation to Iraq".

He said: "One of these is the subtle and not to subtle, linking asylum seekers with terrorism.

'Desperate people'

"Coming on top of his recent remarks about a possible derogation from the European Convention on Human Rights, Mr Blair's remarks can only serve to strengthen that link in people's minds."

Dr Macdonald conceded national security was "clearly important", but added that the "vast majority" of asylum seekers were not terrorists.

Rather, they werer "unfortunate and desperate people" fleeing persecution, he said.

"In Scotland and the UK as a whole, we have strong traditions of decency and hospitality."

Tony Blair discussed asylum on Newsnight

He added: "We must take care lest, in a legitimate concern not to allow these to be exploited, we abandon them altogether."

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "The prime minister was highlighting progress that we expect to make as a result of the measures in the Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act.

"We have said all along that once the Act starts to kick-in then we would expect to see reductions and those would be measured and assessed.

"The prime minister said the halving of the applications was a longer term objective for years to come.

"It is an indicator of progress rather than a target as such."