Great Britain Divided on the Impact of Immigration

Great Britain Divided on the Impact of Immigration

LONDON, October 4/PRNewswire/ --

- New Research Confirms That Most Britons See Immigration as a Threat to
National Identity but Recognise its Economic Benefits

A study, carried out for broadcaster France 24 by TNS Sofres
across Europe, confirms that a majority of Britons are negative about
immigration, regarding it as a threat to their culture. 52% of those polled
see immigration as a threat to their national identity. 56% see illegal
immigration as the main source of the problem. However, the benefits of
immigration are also recognised with 71% recognising how it can boost the
workforce in certain sectors of the economy and 77% believe it enhances
tolerance and cultural diversity.

A majority, 60%, feel that immigrants are poorly integrated in
Britain, with 55% putting the blame firmly on immigrants for failing to take
the necessary steps to integrate into British society.

Britons surveyed would like to see quotas in place, either by
occupation, 63%, or by country of origin, 51%. Nearly half, 46% of those
polled, feel that many immigrants should be returned to their country of
origin.

Confidence in government immigration policy is low, with only
40% sure that they can rely on the present British Government to implement
suitable immigration policies.

Alain de Pouzilhac, Chief Executive Officer, France 24, said,
"France 24 is seeking to open up an intelligent discussion on the issue of
immigration. Its editorial style is to back up accurate news reporting with
analysis, discussion and debate on complex issues such as this. The news
media has a responsibility to help people and policy makers better
understand, address and resolve an issue as sensitive as this one."

France 24 is launching a series of programmes relating to immigration
in the United Kingdom and the results of this research study. These can be
viewed on France 24, Sky Digital Satellite channel 517 and online at

http://www.france24.com.

Note to Editors:

France 24 commissioned this five-country survey to compare
attitudes towards immigration across Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany and
France. Research company, TNS Sofres, carried out the study of a
representative sample of 983 British adults, age 18 years or older and
carried out telephone interviews in their homes.

Today, Thursday October 4th 2007, representatives of France 24
are visiting London to meet with journalists and commentators on news
reporting.

About FRANCE 24 :

FRANCE 24 is the first French international news channel that
offers a French perspective and sensibility on world events. FRANCE 24
broadcasts on a 24/7 basis on three channels, in French, English and Arabic,
in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and on the East Coast of the United
States. FRANCE 24 can be accessed by all media platforms: cable, satellite
and DSL. The website http://www.france24.com is available in 3 languages
(English, French, and Arabic).

Source: France 24

For further information please contact: Bill Gash, Consultant - Partners in Television, Telephone +44-(0)7940-178621, Email bill.gash@partnersin.tv; Nathalie Lenfant, Communications Director - France 24, Telephone +33-(0)-173-012411, Email nlenfant@france24.com

-------
Profile: intent