DURING the past few weeks, immigration has been in the spotlight again and Government minister Phil Woolas has assured us that he would make it more difficult for migrants to enter the UK.

With EU directives and an open borders policy, it is impossible to stop people from the 27 member states from coming to the UK.

Given that anyone who manages to enter any of the member states can then travel with impunity within the European Union, it makes a mockery of any immigration policy that a UK government can make as long as we remain a member.

While it is argued that immigration helps our economy, many must be attracted to our generous benefits system which is now being targeted by eastern European gangs around Britain, as revealed by Channel 4 recently. They are trafficking people into the country to exploit their identities and milk the system.

It is time that we put an end to this nonsense and put the interests of Britain and the British people first. It is also time to take back control of our country, away from Brussels, and once again govern our own destiny.

Philip Griffiths, North West Chairman, UK Independence Party