A SENIOR clergyman will appeal for hospitality towards asylum seekers in his new year message.

Earlier this month, the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Right Reverend John Packer, used his maiden speech at the House of Lords to press for more humane treatment of those driven out of their homeland by oppression and violence.

The bishop will repeat the message during the traditional watchnight service at Ripon Cathedral on New Year's Eve.

Bishop Packer will say: "It is no accident that the Christmas story contains the wanton viciousness of Herod and the flight of Jesus and his parents as asylum seekers.

"From its earliest days, Christianity at its best has sought to combat violence and to provide hospitality for those who need it.

"So we pray particularly for the Royal Engineers who seek to keep the peace in Iraq.

"We pray for all those who spend this new year far away from home and especially those driven out of their own countries by oppression and violence.

"We pray for justice for them and for all who suffer."

The watchnight service starts at 11.15pm.

It precedes the traditional torchlight procession through the streets of Ripon.