Wildlife expert calls for Chinese-style curbs on babies in the UK

The UK should impose a Chinese-style quota on the number of babies people could have rather than curb immigration, wildlife expert Bill Oddie has suggested.

The wildlife expert and TV presenter said he was delighted to have foreign neighbours and favoured a mixed country.

During a TV debate on immigration yesterday, he said, "There should just as likely be a restriction on the number of children that British people have because over-population is what you are talking about here – the big problem."

Oddie, 73, made his comments on BBC1's Sunday Morning Live, arguing, "So you say these perfectly well-qualified people can't come in, but the woman down the road has just had her tenth baby. Well I'm sorry, but they are the people that really should be contained. It would make a difference."

In 1979, China introduced laws banning families from having more than one child, which were eased later, when the quota was increased to two for some couples.

Oddie, who has three daughters from two marriages, received much flak for his comments.

According to Alp Mehmet, of MigrationWatch UK, he was surprised someone as wise and decent as Bill Oddie was coming up with that sort of nonsense.

He said Oddie was right, population levels were increasing but that was largely driven by immigration, not large UK families.

He added, the current government had been successful in bringing down the numbers of people entering the country from outside the EU to 1998 levels.

Oddie said the UK was full of  ''hooliganism'' and revealed he was ''ashamed'' to be British.

On the subject of his nationality he said, "Historically, we seem to have built up this ridiculous idea that 'Oh, we are British, this is our island and we don't want anybody else in it'.

''I personally loathe that kind of chauvinism and I'm happy to say I'm not proud to be British. In fact, I'm very often ashamed to be British.

''We are a terrible race, all the hooliganism and God knows what…''

Challenged by presenter Sian Williams to leave Britain if he didn't like it, he replied, ''You don't leave it, you're talking like UKIP or something. For God's sake, shut up.

''What I'm saying is that without a doubt during my lifetime I've seen the whole culture absolutely burgeon because of immigrants.

Oddie was criticised by viewers on Twitter with one saying, ''If anyone needs curbing, it's people like Bill Oddie.''