Tony Blair hinted yesterday that the deeply unpopular asylum seeker centre near Bicester could become a white elephant.

If that is so, what is the point of spending millions of pounds setting it up?

The Prime Minister said that as the number of asylum seekers fell, the centre would become "less necessary".

He said it was impossible to say when it would become obsolete.

But since Mr Blair appears to be confident that his strategy for dealing with asylum seekers will work, it could be sooner rather than later.

It is another example of the shabby treatment the Government has dished out to objectors.

Mr Blair and his ministers have ridden roughshod over them from the start.

Despite promises that the public would be listened to, their views have been ignored at every turn.

We have managed so far without the Bicester asylum centre, and we won't need it in future if Government policy is successful.

The whole scheme should be put on ice or better still, abandoned.

The money would be better spent on the National Health Service and other public services which are crying out for support.