I WAS a post war baby. I was brought up to take great pride in a Britain which fought oppression and provided sanctuary to the oppressed.

But recent tabloid headlines about 'bogus' asylum seekers 'flooding' into 'soft touch' Britain, now make me wonder if I am living in the same country.

Using such emotive language does no one any favours. Yes, Britain does have a major problem with the numbers of people seeking asylum. But Britain is not alone. Many other EU countries are in the same boat

Take Germany: Latest figures from the United Nations show that last year, it remained Europe's favourite destination for asylum seekers, with more than 95,000 applications lodged.

In Britain, the number of asylum claims increased by 52 per cent last year. Finland (152 per cent), Luxembourg (70 per cent), Ireland (66 per cent), and Belgium (63 per cent), all had to deal with much bigger increases. And, as a proportion of population, Britain comes sixth in the EU league table of new asylum seekers. Over the long term, there is only one real antidote to migration -- tackling the very poverty and political upheaval which prompts people to uproot themselves from their native lands in the first place and seek a new life elsewhere.

Britain and our EU partners are now embarked on just such a process in the former dictatorships of central and eastern Europe. We are offering those countries the prospect of EU membership -- and the stability and economic prosperity which will eventually flow from it.

In the meantime, cheap tabloid headlines, which fan the flames of prejudice, are no answer to the immediate asylum problem. They can only make it more difficult to arrive at a fair and just solution -- in the very best British tradition.

GARY TITLEY MEP, North West Region (Labour), Spring Lane, Radcliffe.