A clear majority (60%) of British Asians believe that there are too many immigrants in Britain, according to a poll by the BBC Asian Network published today.

Though thinking along the same lines as Michael Howard, 47% nevertheless mistrusted the Tory party leader and 48% mistrusted Tony Blair. Both were trounced by Charles Kennedy, only disliked by 33% of those polled.

The MORI poll also found much apathy amongst Asians, with only 62% describing themselves as ‘certain to vote’. In the 1997 election Indians had the highest turnout amongst all ethnic groups, including whites, at 82%.

75% believed the decision to invade Iraq was wrong, with only 15% agreeing and 9% expressing no view.

Another three quarters said they felt Britain had good race relations between people of different ethnic backgrounds, while a similar percentage were not bothered whether the candidate for their party was Asian or not.

Commenting on the findings, Vijay Sharma, Editor of the BBC Asian Network, said : "These findings offer a fascinating insight into the views of Asians in the run up to the General Election. We’ll be airing many of these concerns in discussions on air on the Asian Network."

The national radio station will cover issues covered in its poll today and all this week.

The survey was derived from a total sample of 325 British residents over the age of 18; divided equally into those of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds.

The data was weighted by ethnicity, age, work status and gender to reflect the profile of Asians.