London, Sept.12 (ANI): Uncontrolled immigration could lead to increased violence in the streets of Britain, a former Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.
Lord William Carey, who was archbishop between 1991 and 2002, said there was "deep distress" among members of the British public about the large numbers of people moving from other countries to Britain.
He claimed this could turn to anger and even violence if the problems are not addressed, and added that the "unprecedented" scale of people arriving from different faiths and cultures could change what it means to be British.
Lord Carey is part of a new cross-party group on immigration, which is calling for a "one in, one out" policy to balance the number of people arriving in the country with those leaving and reduce pressure on public services.
"For years it has been impossible to question the wisdom of large-scale immigration without being branded a racist'. This lack of respect for others' views has suffocated healthy debate while providing grist for extremists," The Telegraph quotes him as saying in a newspaper article.
Lord Carey said Britons are not racist and appreciate the benefits of migration, but are now seeing society "change before their eyes" as 600,000 people arrived in the UK in the past year alone while 400,000 left.
"It takes time for people of different cultures to get accustomed to each others' ways and, regrettably, not all newcomers are committed to integration. Some are not even sure about the democratic values that are the very foundation of our society. How will England cope if the present predicted levels of large-scale immigration take place? If this scale of immigration continues, with people of different faiths, cultures and traditions coming here, what will it mean to be British? Lord Carey asks."There is deep visceral distress, bordering on anger, among many British people of all colours concerning migration. We have seen how this can spill over into violence in European countries such as France, the Netherlands and Denmark. It would be arrogant to assume that this could never happen in Britain. We must turn a potential crisis into a creative approach that deepens our sense of community and nationhood," he added.
Christian commentators, however, have rejected this view, and believe that Lord Carey and others of his ilk are trying to convert a few rich Western countries into policed states, which may or may not be successful in countering the problems emanating out of immigration. (ANI)
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