In a generally tolerant society such as ours, it continues to amaze me people object to assisting those fleeing torture, political imprisonment and despair.

It would be interesting to know how many of us in Brighton and Hove and how many in Saltdean have reasonably recent ancestors who came here fleeing war, persecution or religious intolerance.

I suspect the number is greater than those whose ancestry is pure Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Viking or Norman. Our strength has been our capacity to absorb people, their ideas and the skills they bring from other countries.

We are - or used to be - noted for our tolerance and justice. It is something of which I am proud.

-Juliet McCaffery, Brighton and Hove City Council