The Polish community have largely been welcomed into the UK and are praised, as has been seen, for the way they approach work and for their determination to abide by family and community values in a way not always seen in this country in recent years. However, with any immigrant community there are difficulties and the Polish community has been no exception.

In 2008 the Daily Mail reached agreement with the Polish Federation of Great Britain over its coverage of the Polish community. The Press Complaints Commission had to intervene after the federation said that the newspaper had published articles that gave rise to “negative emotions and tensions between the new EU immigrants and local communities”. Specifically it said that the paper had printed headlines which demonstrated an anti-Polish sentiment.

Last year Stephen Fry was also drawn into the issue when he was forced to issue an apology after he made remarks insinuating that Poland was anti-Semitic, homophobic and nationalistic.

Negative headlines have also followed through what could be perceived as positive discrimination. Most newspapers carried a story last year after it emerged that British workers had been turned down for jobs in an East Anglian factory because they did not speak Polish. The factory, which was a meat supplier to Asda supermarkets, said that the decision had been taken to ensure that all workers could follow the same instructions.

Also last year an advert for Supreme Nutrition Ltd insisted that prospective factory operatives must be able to speak Polish and must be able to understand instructions from the Polish supervisor. Jobcentre Plus later suspended the advert after complaints from jobseekers.

Malcolm Moss MP also said that British job-seekers were being refused work picking fruit and vegetables in Cambridgeshire because they did not speak Polish. He said at the time: “The influx of Eastern European workers means the language is now vital for jobs in agriculture.” He also recalled another constituent coming to him and complaining that her daughter had been denied a job in a factory, again because he did not speak Polish. Mr Moss raised the incidents in the House of Commons during a debate on the effects of immigration in Cambridgeshire.