RIBBONS tied to the MoD fencing at Throckmorton are a symbol of sadness and hope, MP Peter Luff said.

The Mid-Worcestershire Tory, who addressed the 300-strong crowd yesterday, said rally organisers had chosen yellow ribbons to hammer home their message to the Government that they would never give up hope of defeating the plans.

"I believe the idea originated in the American Civil War when Confederates used ribbons to signify missing comrades," he said.

"It was revived to great effect in the Vietnam war when US servicemen tied yellow ribbons to trees to show someone was missing in action.

"The sadness of a colleague missing, though, was tinged with hope that they would one day be found.

"And I think that's a good metaphor for what we're saying here.

"We're sad that the Government thinks its right to put 750 vulnerable people in the middle of the countryside, but we're hopeful we can persuade them they're wrong."

He warned that the asylum seekers in the camp would lead a "miserable existence" and revealed that the British Red Cross, Immigration Advisory Service, British Medical Association, Transport and General Workers' Union and Church of England, among other groups, were vehemently opposed to the scheme.

"I saw it last week in Holland when I met some asylum seekers," he said.

"They lived a mile from a town with a population of 120,000, and they thought that was too far.

"What are they going to do when they get here, four miles from Pershore ,which has a population of 20,000.

"I just hope we can persuade the Government they're wrong.

"The only people who think they're right are Government Ministers and civil servants - even their own backbenchers think they're crazy."