Immigration leaflet will give 'true picture'

Matt Storey said he believed the leaflet could have an impact

A leaflet aimed at tackling misinformation about immigration and asylum seekers can have a real "impact", a police and crime commissioner (PCC) has said.

The two-page document, produced by the Northumbria, Cleveland and Durham PCCs, will be distributed to libraries and community centres around the region.

Cleveland's Matt Storey said the leaflet was one tool they could use to "challenge some of the myths" about migrants.

"I think it's really important that we get the facts into the public domain so people can see what the true picture is on the ground," he said.

The leaflet, which can also be found online, has been produced in conjunction with the North East Migration Partnership.

Storey said it was important for the PCCs to be involved in such a document because it was their jobs to ensure community cohesion and to keep the community safe.

There have been multiple protests and counter protests in north-east England in recent months over illegal immigration.

Stand Up to Racism campaigners gathered in Newcastle in September

Storey said: "There's a lot of misinformation out there about immigration and asylum seekers and refugees particularly and I think what we wanted to try and do was make sure that we were challenging some of the myths that are out there."

It contains statistics such as the fact that just 0.3% of the population of north-east England are asylum seekers.

Northumbria PCC Susan Dungworth said she hoped the leaflet reached as many people as possible. "We want to set the record straight," she said. "Replace the fiction with the facts and hate with understanding."