The Archbishop of Canterbury has backed recent comments from the Archbishop of York about immigration.
Most Revd Justin Welby said generosity to people wanting to enter Britain could not come at the expense of people already living here.
His comments come after Dr John Sentamu recently said that Europe is "shunting" migrants towards the UK because it sees the country as a "soft touch".
Dr Sentamu said that refugees should be taken care of in the first country they reach, rather than allowed to travel all the way up in an attempt to get into Britain.
Speaking to The Times in Rome last night, Mr Welby said: "The issue of being generous, open and hospitable is absolutely essential, but we can't do that at the cost of neglecting the most vulnerable and fragile communities in our own country.
"The two have to go together. You have to be hospitable but you have to be overwhelmingly generous with our own communities."
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Article by Aaron James
Tola Mbakwe is a multimedia journalist for Premier.
