UN blames media and politicians for racist attacks

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has blamed the British media and politicians for a spate of attacks against foreigners seeking asylum in the country.

Three such attacks have taken place in Britain in as many days and a spokesman for the commissioner said this is "sadly predictable given the climate of vilification of asylum seekers that has taken hold in recent years".

The UN accused the British media of continually branding refugees a problem, twisting the statistics and only publishing negative stories about asylum seekers.

It also said politicians used the negative image of refugees to gather brownie points during the general election in June.