London: Former prime minister Margaret
Thatcher had complained about too many Asian immigrants being
allowed into Britain while she had less objections about white
settlers in the country.
Secret files released to the National Archives Wednesday showed that soon after becoming prime minister, Thatcher
privately complained that "too many Asian immigrants were
being allowed into Britain."
But she had fewer problems about `white` immigrants such
as Rhodesians, Poles and Hungarians, since they could more
easily be assimilated into British society, files showed.
The files, which are published today under the "30-year
rule", shed light on Thatcher`s attitudes on race and
immigration, political issues that have remained controversial
ever since.
The documents show that in July 1979, Thatcher responded
angrily when Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington suggested that
Britain accept 10,000 Vietnamese boat people, fleeing
persecution in communist Vietnam, over two years.
Failure to take a significant number would lead to a
"damaging reaction" at home and abroad, Carrington said,
adding that anything less than 10,000 would be "difficult to
sustain" on the world stage.
But Thatcher said there were already too many people
coming into Britain.
Meanwhile William Whitelaw, then home secretary, who
joined issue with said the refugees were a different matter to
immigrants in general.
Thatcher said with some exceptions there had been no
humanitarian case for accepting 1.5 million immigrants from
south Asia and elsewhere. It was essential to draw a line
somewhere.
The meeting was held about 18 months after Lady Thatcher
made comments in a television interview that came to be seen
as a watershed in mainstream politicians` handling of race and
immigration.
She also thought "it was quite wrong that immigrants
should be given council housing whereas white citizens were
not."
"People are really rather afraid that this country might
be rather swamped by people with a different culture," she
told World In Action.
"If we do not want people to go to extremes we ourselves
must talk about this problem and we must show that we are
prepared to deal with it," she said.
"We are not in politics to ignore people`s worries. We
are in politics to deal with them."
The comments were held responsible for a collapse in
support for the National Front, which had been gathering
momentum in working class communities.
PTI
