Anglicans angered over destitute UK asylum-seekers

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) Anglican church leaders said today asylum seekers faced destitution in Britain, where the gap between rich and poor is as wide as ever.

The Church of England Commission also said antipathy and racism are endemic among young people, making them prime targets for religious and political extremism.

''Why is that young people in Britain, the fourth largest economy in the world, are the most depressed in Europe,'' they asked in a report on what they called the failures of urban regeneration.

The report also urged the government to look at bringing in a higher ''living wage'' than the minimum wage, currently 5.05 pounds an hour.

The report, painting a bleak picture of the dispossessed in modern Britain, comes 20 years after a similar paper from the Commission attacked the social policies of Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher and caused sharp divisions between church and government.

This time Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair's policies came under a harsh spotlight and one particular target was the fate of asylum seekers.

''The government must lead rather than follow public opinion on immigration, refugee and asylum policy,'' it said.

Asylum seekers should be allowed to take paid work to sustain themselves and contribute to society.

''It is unacceptable to use destitution as a tool of coercion when dealing with 'refused' asylum seekers,'' the report said.

Earlier this month, London's High Court accused the British government of ''an abuse of power'' for refusing to allow nine Afghan asylum seekers who hijacked a plane to Britain to stay in the country as refugees.

Judge Jeremy Sullivan, whose fiercely critical ruling was attacked by Blair, said the government had ''defied'' judges and legal procedures.

Reflecting on the social state of Britain, the Commission noted millions of pounds have been poured into city regeneration schemes across the country.

The church leaders, clergy, academics and activists in the Commission concluded that that economy may have been growing but many had been marginalised in the gap between the poorest and ''the super rich.'' ''The experience of the faithful on the ground is that the poor are the losers in a widening prosperity gulf,'' it concluded.

REUTERS PG PM1921