From Mr Ralph Musgrave.

Sir, I don’t agree with Martin Wolf’s claim that the UK government has “never attempted” to make arguments for immigration (“Time for a debate on immigration”, November 6). It tried, and fell flat on its face. One of the main arguments for immigration in the government's submission to the recent House of Lords inquiry into immigration was that it promotes economic growth. An examination of the small print reveals that all it was saying was that the more people there are in the country, the bigger the economy. Well, my pet hamster has worked that one out.