People are entitled to fear impact of 'enormous' numbers of migrants, Archbishop of Canterbury says

British families are entitled to fear the impact that "enormous" numbers of migrants will have on jobs, housing and the NHS, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.

The Most Rev Justin Welby said that it is "absolutely outrageous" to condemn people who raise concerns as "racist" and said that their "genuine fears" must be listened to and addressed.

In an interview with The House magazine, he described the scale of the migration crisis as "colossal" and said that people are "justified" when they raise concerns.

He also said that there is "no correct Christian view" on how to vote in the EU referendum, adding: "You can't say 'God says you must vote this way'."

He said: "Fear is a valid emotion at a time of such colossal crisis. This is one of the greatest movements of people in human history. Just enormous. And to be anxious about that is very reasonable.

"There is a tendency to say 'Those people are racist', which is just outrageous, absolutely outrageous.

"In fragile communities particularly - and I've worked in many areas with very fragile communities over my time as a clergyman - there is a genuine fear: what happens about housing? What happens about jobs? What happens about access to health services?"

The comments represent the most significant concerns raised by the Church of England about the migration crisis to date.

The Most Rev Welby said that with the right support, the British people had shown they were able to deal "brilliantly" with the challenges which such situations created.

"It is simply a question of the scale on which we are prepared to act, in a way that spreads the load so it can be managed," he said.

"Fear is justified, I wouldn't want to criticise that for a moment, but so is hope wholly justified, because we have the capacity. We're those kind of people, we always have been."

He said that it is "legitimate" for those on both sides of the EU referendumdebate to raise fears about the outcome of the referendum.

He said: “It should be about what we fear. Fear is a valid emotion. Fear of what happens if we leave, fear of what happens if we stay. You can understand why that really matters. Fear is legitimate.

“My hope and prayer is that we have a really visionary debate about what our country looks like. From those who want to leave; what would it look like? What would Britain look like, having left?

"What would be its attitude internationally? What would be its values? What are the points of excitement, of contributing to human flourishing? How does that liberate the best that is within us?

“And from those who want to stay, how would we change the European Union? How would we make it more effective if we remained in it? What’s our vision?"

The Most Rev Welby repeated his call for Britain to take more than the 20,000 refugees pledged by David Cameron, describing the commitment as "pretty thin".

He said: “We are leading the world locally, in the area of the crisis, in terms of humanitarian support.

"But it’s got to be both, not either/or. We’re taking an extraordinary lead there. It shows what we can do. Can we not show the same capacity and strength here, as we do there?"

He also said that for the first ime in centuries Britain finds itself in a conflict with Isil and other extremists that has "very significant theological aspects".

He said that Britain needs to be confident and proud about its Judeo-Christian heritage.

He said: "We need to be confident about our own heritage, our Judeo-Christian heritage, whether we’re believers or not. That is what has shaped our own values, and we need to be confident in that."