ILLEGAL immigration is far too high and now should be severely reduced by whatever means. I do not believe that the majority of these illegal immigrants or asylum seekers arriving by dingy or hiding in lorries are vulnerable individuals fleeing from tyranny and oppression.

I would characterise them in the main as economic immigrants seeking a short cut to a better life, and they are people who are not prepared to follow the required legal procedures.

Prospective immigrants should possess the necessary skills and talents that this country really needs, as well as being law abiding.

On TV, the boatloads of illegal immigrants appear to be mainly young single males from underdeveloped and failing states. They will probably, therefore, not have the appropriate skills that a developed country really needs. Post Covid-19, the last thing this country needs is additional competition in the job market.

The UK authorities have no control over the type of people entering the UK. The only redress available as far as I can see is to maximise the repatriation efforts for the recently arrived as well as the thousands of failed asylum seekers who are still floating around.

Substantial numbers of UK people see no merit whatsoever in the continued presence in this country of failed asylum seeker or illegal immigrants and the measure of the Government’s success on repatriation issues should be determined by the number who actually leave our shores following unsuccessful applications.

Social media is full of examples of the UK government accommodating illegal immigrants in four-star hotels at the taxpayers’ expense. The mainstream media, including The Northern Echo, is strangely silent on this. The issue of immigration will make or break the reputation of our political parties. They ignore their constituents’ concerns at their peril. Time is running out for this Government and the proverbial red wall may be retaken.

Howard Wood, Darlington.