IT WAS with sadness that I read that robots could be caring for the country’s elderly within 30 years.

Honda, which leads the world in humanoid robotics, has just launched its most advanced creation, which is the first robot able to make decisions for itself on how to carry out increasingly complex tasks.

There is doubtless a place for robots, particularly where it mean humans don’t have to risk their lives, such as dealing with bombs, but the vision of them providing companionship for the lonely elderly sends a shiver down my spine.

What a sad indictment on society that the future envisaged for today’s middle-aged is not one filled with friends and relatives or even carers but a robot. It may be smart – and there is always the nagging worry that one day they will outsmart us all – but nothing can replace a human’s touch, smile and, most importantly, love.

Amjad Bashir, MEP, Ukip Communities spokesman, Wellington Place, Leeds.