THE persistent attempts by refugees to make it across the Channel threaten to add to the burden of an asylum application procedure already under severe strain.

And now the legality of a detention centre opened with the intention of reducing the backlog of applications has been seriously questioned.

All in all, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that the Government's policy on asylum seekers is in tatters.

We do not envy the Home Secretary's task of restoring the public's faith in the system.

This is a Europe-wide problem. However, because Europe ends with Britain geographically, we appear to be bearing the brunt of the problem.

Unilaterally, Britain cannot, and must not, abandon its humanitarian duty to offer shelter and protection to genuine asylum seekers.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to distinguish between asylum seekers and economic migrants without investigations.

Detention centres, designed to fast-track decisions on applications, seem to be the only means of resolving the problem.

The dilemma facing the Home Secretary is to devise a system which strikes the right balance. A system which conforms with our humanitarian obligations, but also protects our country from being a magnet for bogus asylum seekers.

Surely the courts have to recognise that there is no perfect solution.

Detention, as long as it is short-lived, may be the only practical compromise