I CANNOT understand the difficulty in the dilemma facing the Government in regarding asylum seekers.

Surely, the simple way to deal with this matter is to allow all-comers to enter and legislate that social security benefits, housing benefits, etc. are only payable to anyone who has worked and paid Income Tax and National Insurance for a period of, say, three years.

This would ensure that only people who are genuinely prepared to look after themselves and their families and add something to the community in which they wish to live, would be interested in coming to this country. Scroungers would have no incentive to come.

If such a proposal was adopted, this country would benefit in the long term. It would save substantially on benefit payments and the skills of the immigrants would be beneficial in their various fields of endeavour.

JOHN MCGLYNN, Grasmere Avenue, Lammack, Blackburn.