CT Riley says that our healthcare and welfare systems can’t cope with current levels of immigration (HAS Nov 6). This is untrue.

Immigrants generally make a greater contribution to public finances over their lifetimes than British-born citizens, and therefore pay, through taxation, at least their fair share of the cost of healthcare, education and other public services.

The strains on our public services are the direct result of this government’s destructive austerity policies. The solution is to allocate more of the wealth which immigrants create towards providing the services we all rely on.

Mr Riley also states that: “by 2050 the native white population of every European country will become the minority” and “Europe will most likely become an Islamic state.”

This is scaremongering nonsense, gleaned from discredited sources on the internet. The reputable Pew Research Center estimates that Europe’s Muslim population could rise from its current level of 5 per cent to somewhere between 7 and 14 per cent by 2050, depending on migration levels. So no chance whatsoever of an Islamic state.

In any case, it would be pessimistic to assume that the factors currently driving immigration will not change. We are now witnessing the biggest displacement of people since World War II, driven by war, poverty and famine. We must strive for a better future.

Pete Winstanley, Durham