The UK will be at risk from Turkish criminals, while the health service will be put under immense pressure, according to Britain’s Armed Forces minister, if the UK stays in the EU. However, critics have accused the Leave campaign of “stoking the fires of prejudice.”

The campaign for Britain to leave the EU says that if the UK remains within the bloc, security in the country will be put at risk from countries such as Turkey. Armed Forces minister Penny Mordaunt warned that if Turkey was to join the EU, it would put Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) under immense strain.

Using figures from the migration of Romanian and Bulgarian citizens after the countries joined the EU, the Leave campaign predicts that 142,000 Turkish citizens could head to the UK every year, if Ankara is given full EU membership.

“Since the birthrate in Turkey is so high, we can expect to see an additional million people added to the UK population from Turkey alone within eight years,” the Leave campaign said in a statement, as cited by the Guardian.

“This will not only increase the strain on Britain’s public services, but it will also create a number of threats to UK security. Crime is far higher in Turkey than the UK. Gun ownership is also more widespread. Because of the EU’s free movement laws, the government will not be able to exclude Turkish criminals from entering the UK.”

As a consequence of the perceived threat posed by Turkish membership, Mordaunt says the only option for Britain is to opt out.

“I believe that this is dangerous and it will make us less safe. That’s why the safer option in this referendum is to Vote Leave and take back control.”

Although talks are taking place with Turkey regarding visa free travel to the Schengen zone for tourism purposes, there is no realistic prospect of Ankara joining the EU in the foreseeable future, according to the Conservative former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind.

Vote Leave are desperate to avoid experts’ warnings that leaving Europe would send Britain back to recession, and so are making arguments that are absurd and untrue. Even Boris Johnson has said that Turkey joining the EU is ‘simply not on the cards’,” Rifkind said.

“Turkey simply will not join the EU any time soon. In 30 years of negotiations, they have completed just one of the 35 tests they need to fulfill to apply to join. Every EU country, including Britain, has a veto on any new country joining. And if they do join in the distant future, our government will have the power to impose transitional controls to restrict immigration from Turkey,” he added.

Meanwhile Trevor Phillips, a former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, lashed out at the Leave campaign and said he could not imagine what the “sizeable, law-abiding, industrious Turkish community in the UK must feel when they hear this.”

“This appears to be a straightforward admission that the Leave campaign has lost on every rational argument and now it is simply trying to stoke the fires of prejudice,” he said, according to the Guardian.

A referendum on whether the UK should remain within the EU is set to take place on June 23. A poll published on Saturday for the Observer newspaper showed that 44 percent of Britons want to remain in the EU, while 40 percent of the population would like the UK to leave.

Drying washing indoors can pose a serious health risk to people with weakened immune systems or severe asthma, doctors have warned.

Clothes draped on drying frames or warm radiators can raise moisture levels in the home by up to 30 per cent, creating ideal breeding conditions for mould spores.

Experts are particularly concerned about Aspergillus fumigatus spores, which can cause lung infections, The Daily Mail reports.

Professor David Denning and his team at the National Aspergillosis Centre in Manchester have issued the warning after treating a growing number of patients who have inhaled Aspergillus fungal spores.

Professor Denning said: ‘One load of wet washing contains almost two litres of water, which is released into the room. Most of us are either immune to the fungus which grows in these humid conditions, or have a sufficiently healthy system to fight the infection.

‘But in asthma sufferers it can produce coughing and wheeziness, and in people with weak or damaged immune systems, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, Aids patients and people who have an auto immune disease, the fungus can cause pulmonary aspergillosis – a condition which can cause irreparable, and sometime fatal, damage to the lungs and sinuses.

My advice would be when in doubt dry wet washing outside, in a tumble dryer or in a well-ventilated indoor space away from bedrooms and living areas to be safe rather than sorry.’

Craig Mather, a father of three from Bolton, contracted tuberculosis in 1997. The disease left his lungs weak and aggravated the problems he had been left with after childhood asthma.

Mr Mather, 43, said: ‘I only started to recover when my consultant diagnosed chronic pulmonary aspergillosis and prescribed me special drugs to fight the fungal infection. However, I noticed coughing fits and night sweats particularly when I had wet washing drying on the warm bedroom radiator.

‘He told me that it could be making my problems worse, so for the last 12 months I haven’t dried my clothes indoors and I’ve notice a huge improvement in my health.’

Aspergillosis is the name of a group of conditions caused by a fungal mould called aspergillus. It usually affects the windpipe, sinuses and lungs, but it can spread to anywhere in the body.

Depending on a number of factors, the symptoms of aspergillosis can vary in severity from mild wheezing to coughing up blood.

A previous study carried out by the Mackintosh School of Architecture in Glasgow found many homes had too much moisture. Up to a third of this moisture was attributed to drying laundry.

Researchers called on housebuilders to build dedicated drying areas into new housing to address the health concerns.

Leave campaign says UK at risk from Turkish criminals if it remains in EU

Drying your washing indoors ‘can pose serious health risk’