Blair Threatens Aid Cut to Control Immigration

Tony Blair will today warn Turkey and countries in the former Yugoslavia that Britain will cut off aid if they fail to crack down on illegal immigrants passing through their borders.

In a sign of his determination to toughen up immigration controls in the wake of the far right's success in Europe, the prime minister will outline a three-point plan to "regain the initiative" on asylum and immigration.

This will include cutting off aid to "third countries", which act as gateways to Europe if they fail to tighten border controls.

The prime minister is confident that his Spanish counterpart, Jose Maria Aznar, will place the plan high on the agenda at next month's EU summit in Seville. Mr Blair will tell Mr Aznar over lunch in Downing Street today that the EU needs to "up the tempo" after falling behind in the three years since an action plan was drawn up at the Tampere summit in Finland in 1999.

In his three-point plan Mr Blair will call for:

· Urgent action to strengthen EU borders. Mr Blair calls for an EU-wide version of an Anglo-Italian initiative in which their own immigration officials were posted to the Balkans. This led to a 90% drop in "unaccounted arrivals" in Sarajevo - one of the main gateways to the EU for immigrants from across Asia and the Middle East.

· A tougher approach against the "third countries", such as Turkey and the former Yugoslavia, which serve as gateways to the EU. "We should use whatever economic clout we have," a source said. "We have to make clear to countries like Turkey that they have to take these people back."

· Improving help to countries at the "sharp end", such as Greece, to cut the numbers entering the EU through their borders. This could involve providing financial help to deploy more immigration officers.

Mr Blair is said to be determined that people should focus beyond headline issues, such as the Red Cross refugee camp at Sangatte in France. "While the problems of Sangatte have to be dealt with they are symptoms of problems further down the line," his spokesman said.

Downing Street expressed confidence last night that Mr Aznar would readily agree to Mr Blair's plans because the leaders had worked well together in the past, most notably on pushing through centre-right economic reforms.

But the prime minister also believes that the success of Pim Fortuyn's anti-immigrant party in the Dutch general election and Jean Marie Le Pen's success in France has provided a wake-up call to his fellow European leaders.

"We have seen what happens when we do not deal with this problem," one source said.

Downing Street will be hoping that Mr Blair's three-point plan will demonstrate British resolve. But critics are likely to say that the need to remind fellow EU leaders of their 1999 blueprint shows how little has been achieved in the past three years.

Mr Blair and Mr Aznar will also discuss the Anglo-Spanish talks on the future of Gibraltar during their working lunch. Plans to share sovereignty of the Rock have run into difficulties in recent weeks over Spain's determination to make clear that it still lays claim to complete sovereignty.

One source, who said that the Gibraltar talks were expected to continue until July, said: "Once you face the crunch issues there are always difficulties."