Smith reveals over 6,600 security agents working illegally
The home secretary today confirmed more than 6,600 illegal immigrants had been cleared to take up security jobs in the UK – more than the 5,000 first reported.
A further 4,400 workers had been given permits to apply for work and Jacqui Smith said it remained unclear whether this permission should have been granted.
The Conservatives claim this means up to 11,000 illegal immigrants have been wrongly working in sensitive security positions.
In a statement to MPs, Ms Smith said she was confident a “significant proportion” of the suspect group would have legally been allowed to work in the UK.
Ms Smith told the Commons: “Visits to specific individuals and employers have already begun and swift action has been taken in those cases which merit it.
“A series of targeted enforcement operations will take place in the coming months with a view to prosecuting employers and removing or prosecuting individuals in the worst cases.”
The Border and Immigration Agency has been investigating Security Industry Authority (SIA) licensing after it emerged the Home Office had been aware since July that the immigration status of thousands of security workers was questionable.
Ms Smith reported today it had found 6,653 SIA licence-holders did not have permission to work in the UK and uncertainty remains over a further 4,447.
The SIA is responsible for vetting applicants for security jobs, including checks on identity and criminal records as well as training.
The home secretary had maintained it was the responsibility of individual employers to then check licence-holders’ eligibility to work in the UK but critics reacted incredulously to this claim.
Shadow home secretary David Davis today said employers assumed the SIA licence meant a holder had the right to work in the UK.
The Tories maintain up to 11,000 illegal immigrants could be working in security and said the incident marked a “massive policy failure” by the Home Office.
Since July 2nd, the SIA has introduced its own immigration status check, which the home secretary said would create a “double lock on illegal working”.
Mr Davis accused Ms Smith of a lack of candour in dealing with the issue, with the Home Office originally accused of suppressing the news due to concerns of a negative media reaction.
The Liberal Democrats today said the government had been “extremely slow” in recognising the problem and “slower still in coming clean about the sheer scale of it”.
Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg implied the government had attempted to bury today’s statement amid a further 24 government announcements, Mr Brown’s appearance before the liaison committee and the signing of the EU reform treaty.
