The Archbishop of Canterbury has accused politicians of inflaming the heated debate around immigration.
The Most Rev Justin Welby attacked what he said was the suggestion the issue was a "deep menace" facing society.
He also urged political leaders not to imply new arrivals could "overwhelm" Britain. He was speaking just hours after Defence Secretary Michael Fallon withdrew his claim that parts of the country felt "swamped".
Mr Fallon said that he had been a "bit careless" with his comments, but he still faced a public dressing down from Prime Minister David Cameron who said: "We should always choose our language carefully."
The Tories are worried they will lose another Westminster by-election to EuroUkip next month, having failed in Clacton.
Asked about the tone of the immigration debate, the Archbishop said he was worried about the language: "Do I worry about the language? Yes I do, I really do. We can't overburden communities, we have to be realistic about that.
"But at the heart of Christian teaching about the human being is that all human beings are of absolutely equal and infinite value and the language we use must reflect the value of the human being and not treat immigration as a deep menace that is somehow going to overwhelm a country that has coped with many waves of immigration and has usually done so with enormous success.
"It is part of the strength and brilliance of this country that we are so good at this, and I would hate to see us lose that."
l The Archbishop of Canterbury has spoken of how he broke down after hearing from victims of the Church of England's "total failure and betrayal" over historic sexual abuse.
He said: "To my intense surprise, because I don't normally do this kind of thing, I broke down completely. It was the shredding effect of hearing what we did, what we did, to those people and the sense of total failure and betrayal."
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