I congratulate The Argus on Paul Ward's excellent article "Refuge from the myths" (February 12). It is all too rare to see a dispassionate and factual article about the circumstances from which the majority of refugees and asylum seekers are escaping.

As Mr Ward makes clear, despite the attempts of Home Office adjudicators and decision-makers to find any and every excuse to refuse someone's asylum claim, the vast majority of those applying for asylum are, indeed, genuine.

We have had people such as an Iranian whose hands were crushed in broken glass and who was tortured and beaten being denied asylum because his treatment was held to be a one-off occurrence. It is well known torture is state sanctioned in Iran's prison regime.

We would hope some of those residents of Saltdean would think again about their adoption of the myth that refugees bring crime and disease in their wake. It was not long ago a well-known tabloid newspaper wrote this:

"The way stateless Jews from Germany are pouring in from every port of this country is becoming an outrage: The number of aliens entering the country through back door - a problem to which we have repeatedly pointed" (Daily Mail, August 20, 1938).

Some things never change and one would hope Councillor Linda Hyde and others in positions of responsibility would reflect on their actions.

-Tony Greenstein, Secretary, Brighton and Hove Unemployed Workers' Centre