The former Archbishop of Canterbury is today warning that failure to cut back the levels of immigration “could be seriously damaging to the future harmony of our society”.
Archbishop Carey cites the case of Dagenham, Essex, where he was born and brought up, describing “a very real danger” that an alienated white working-class electorate could vote for a BNP Member of Parliament.
Archbishop Carey said: “We play into the hands of the far Right if we do not seriously address the concerns that have led to some otherwise decent, hard-working people supporting modern-day fascism.” He said that the sheer number of immigrants threatens “the very ethos or the DNA of our nation”.
But a senior Church of England bishop criticised him. The Bishop of Lincoln, John Saxbee, the Church of England’s spokesman on immigration in the House of Lords, said that many in his diocese were dependent on migrant labour. He called on Lord Carey to offer a “more nuanced” approach.
“Christians across the country work hard to generate a culture of hospitality rather than hostility towards those who come to live, work and worship among us.
“I am sure Lord Carey would not want to do or say anything which might make our task more difficult in that respect,” he said.