Britons polite and football mad - refugees
14 Jun 10
Britons are polite, welcoming and football mad, according to a poll questioning asylum seekers and refugees in the country.
The survey found that asylum seekers also named British TV as one of the best things about living in the UK, with X Factor, EastEnders and news bulletins the top three TV programmes they preferred.
Of the 327 refugees and asylum seekers living in different parts of the UK, half said either the Queen or Princess Diana was the Briton they admired most, while 41% picked David Beckham.
Those polled have been exiled from their homes and families by war and human rights abuses and come from countries such as Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Afghanistan.
More than half either strongly agreed or tended to agree that the average Briton had a welcoming attitude to refugees to the UK.
Refugees are people who have been granted the legal right to live in the UK, while asylum seekers are those waiting for the Home Office to give them permission for leave to remain.
The charity Refugee Action commissioned the survey as part of Refugee Week.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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