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LONDON (AP) - Britain's top Roman Catholic cleric on Tuesday accused U.K. politicians of fear-mongering on immigration issues, saying it is wrong to argue that newcomers are a drain on the economy.
Immigration, a hot-button issue in Britain, got a jolt of attention following the loosening of restrictions on migrants from Bulgaria and Romania earlier this year, a move some claimed would send Eastern Europeans flooding into Britain.
The Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster, said Britons should acknowledge the positive contribution of immigrants "to our well-being and economy. "
"I think the idea that immigrants are a net drain on our economy is false," he said at a news conference.
The archbishop, who is to be made a cardinal by Pope Francis in Rome this weekend, said "leaders ought to appeal to something more normal and more substantial than fear."
Last week the outspoken Nichols criticized the Conservative-led government's cuts to welfare spending, saying they had destroyed the "basic safety net" and left people facing hunger and destitution.
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