ALL credit to Bolton South-east MP Brian Iddon for appealing to Home Secretary David Blunkett over the fate of the 25 Kurdish asylum seekers currently living in Bolton.

There's something of a contradiction in claiming that Iraq is a safe country to return Kurds who have been oppressed and tortured, when at the same time our Government is preparing to make war on Iraq for being a repressive and dangerous regime.

The current hue and cry whipped up by the popular press over asylum seekers is fanning the flames of racism throughout the country. While other towns in the North-west have witnessed race riots and gains by fascist organisations, Bolton has managed to retain its reputation as a place of tolerance and racial harmony. I would like to think that people fleeing oppression will always find a warm and sympathetic welcome in our town, and Brian Iddon's action is to be applauded.

Neil Duffield

Gorses Mount