1999 Cabinet Office Files: Polish PM Rejected Blair’s Complaints About Roma Asylum Seekers

Cabinet Office files, released by the National Archives, have revealed Sir Tony Blair and the Polish prime minister had a spat in 1999 over the issue of people from the Roma community in Poland claiming asylum in Britain. On Sep. 21, 1999 Sir Tony wrote to Poland’s Prime Minister, Jerzy Buzek, telling him: “I am writing to share with you my concern at the increase in the number of asylum seekers from Poland … I am sure you find it as frustrating as I do that we should have to face this problem.” In his letter, Sir Tony noted his home secretary, Jack Straw, had written to Mr. Buzek on Aug. 26 to say the figures were coming down, but the prime minister added, “the latest statistics now show that they have doubled since June.”...