Berlin

an asylum seeker known to the police does not mean all asylum seekers commit crimes

Not in my opinion, no, Lillie. Sex pests are found in every population and of every nationality. How on earth can one man be held to be typical of thousands of asylum seekers?

(I could supply an answer to that question, but I won't)

Apparently the original Polish driver had been stabbed and shot, poor man. Then driven in the passenger seat of the truck.

Last I heared on the news was that the man they held is now released, and they think the driver may be still at large .

I heard that too. So all the stuff about the perpetrator being a recent asylum seeker could very well be speculation.

@MaizieD

Very true! Just reading about this on my local BBC page.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-38376421

HopeNotHate has collected the tweet which were sent after Jo Cox's murder. Quite a number of them claimed she deserved to die, because she ignored the exploitation of young girls in her constituency.

The two men in the link above operated their inder age prostitution agency from Shoeburyness. The MP is James Duddridge. I wonder how many death threats he's received.

TYPO 'tweet' should be 'tweets' (plural)

The overriding feeling everywhere is fear. You don't know your enemy or how or when they will strike. The terrorists have got what they want. How can there ever be an integrated society? My hearts go out to all involved yesterday. How many more times will they strike over the holiday period?

Latest news. Identity Papers were found in the vehicle belong to a Tunisan asylum seeker who had been refused asylum and was to be deported

Yes ab that was on the news, a Tunisian ( like the lorry outrage in France, he was a Tunisian.)

The question is , done in the name of Islam ( pervertedly) or anger at society in general?Either way, a terrorist plan.

In the mix of asylum seekers I have often noted nationalities such as Tunisian, Moroccan, Algerian, Pakistani, Albanian. WHY? Their countries are not at war and although they may not be ideal, so many varied nationalities are lumped into the same category as say Syrians, Afghans etc., who in many cases are having to flee for their lives. It doesn't help the case of the genuine refugee who is great need of being granted a safe haven if all and sundry arrive in Western Europe because they think it will be a better place to live.

They are individuals , we have no idea why they seek asylum no matter which country they flee from

Have you got any figures for the number of asylum seekers from those countries? Tunisia is actually accepting huge numbers of asylum seekers from countries such as Libya and Syria.

These statistics from Eurostat show that Tunisia and Morocco aren't in the top thirty countries of origin.

We might not have any idea why they seek asylum AB, but surely the host country should try and ascertain whether individuals justify the need to be given refuge or not. If they come from a country that is not unstable or in the throes of conflict then they could potentially be denying a safe haven to the large numbers who have no choice in leaving their homeland. I don't see why say a Moroccan or Tunisian needs to be classified as an "asylum" seeker. It's too ambiguous to lump all these nationalities together. I gather that in the last year Germany has failed to sift through the great numbers that have arrived at their door and check them out and it's the muddying of the waters in that the genuine refugee is lumped together with those who just want to come and live in Europe per se. European governments need to take a responsibility for the safety of their own citizens and apply a stringent vetting procedure.

The figures and numbers from North African countries seeking asylum in Germany are immaterial. Angela Merkel I believe had said something along the lines, "if the attack was carried out by an asylum seeker it would be too awful to contemplate" but worse still if it turns out to be a person who didn't actually need asylum in first place. How can that be justified to the bereaved relatives.

Terri, we do not know why a person seeks asylum, Iraqies who worked as interpreters for the British army sought asylum . Christians under threat of beheading seek asylum , political activists threatened with the death penalty seek asylum , not all live in countries at war

Annie in complete agreement about interpreters being offered asylum, our government has been shameful in their abandonment of those brave people. Equally no dispute about political activists or Christians threatened with death. Nevertheless, still wondering if that's the case with those who seek asylum from Tunisia, Morocco and Albania for example.

If the reports are correct, the current suspect had his request for asylum rejected. Apparently it's not clear whether he was actually deported or whether he was deported and returned somehow. Therefore, he wasn't 'lumped' together with Syrians and the Germans had sifted through his application and found it unsatisfactory. He wasn't granted asylum.

Why are the figures from North African countries immaterial? It was you who mentioned them. There are, in fact, very few people from North Africa who seek asylum in Germany or anywhere else in the EU.

I assume you are aware that other countries (outside the EU) have more refugees than anywhere in the EU. If Germany hadn't taken the ones they did, they would still be in Italy, Greece or Hungary. Germany has more resources to cope with them than any of those countries.

@Terri

People seek asylum from Albania for economic reasons BUT (and I wish I could put this in big fat caps because you seem to be ignoring the evidence) people DON'T seek asylum from Tunisia and Morocco in any significant number.

Just realised I forgot to include the link to the Eurostat statistics

ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/File:Countries_of_origin_of_(non-EU)_asylum_seekers_in_the_EU-28_Member_States,_2014_and_2015_(thousands_of_first_time_applicants)_YB16.png

Tunisia and Morocco isn't even on the chart.

Terri, I have no idea why they sought asylum but I think it unfair to assume asylum seekers from countries which are not at war do so only to have a better life style

It seems this man was to be deported but there was a hold up with papers arriving in Germany

It doesn't matter whether Tunisians and Moroccons represent a small proportion of asylum seekers. As yet we don't have the full facts, but if the Tunisian suspect is found to have carried out this latest mass murder of innocent people is indeed an asylum seeker who didn't need asylum anyway then there might be 12 people still alive. So I think Germas might well be asking their government "why are we letting people from relatively safe countries seek asylum here albeit in small numbers"

And how do you stop them? The UK is an Island and therefore, as long as the FRench allow UK borders in FRance- we have some control. After Brexit, UK border controls will have to move back to Dover and other ports in the UK- and the FRench won't be very active or keen to stop those who want to cross.

In Europe, there are border posts on main roads- but there are 100000s of miles of ungarded fields and forest, mountains, etc- where you can walk or cycle without anyone ever noticing. I live on the Swiss/French border- the border post is manned 3 hrs per day at random- but anyone can walk anywhere in the woods either side from FRance, and then on to Germany- they could be in Southern Germany in a couple of days...

Shall we go all Trump and decide to put a massive fence all around the UK - and between each EU or European country...
Our little country has border with FRance, Italy, Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein. Now, how tall do you want that fence?

The UK will soon have no control as to who crosses the Channel at all until they get to UK.

Yes, it does matter, Terri, because you keep claiming they do something they don't. No country can stop anybody claiming asylum. If reports are true, the asylum application was turned down, so I'm really not sure what your point is.