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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Security staff employed illegally | Security staff employed illegally |
| (about 12 hours later) | |
| The Home Office has admitted illegal immigrants have been mistakenly cleared for jobs as security staff. | The Home Office has admitted illegal immigrants have been mistakenly cleared for jobs as security staff. |
| Ministers have ordered new checks to be carried out on hundreds of thousands of people vetted by the Security Industry Authority over the past three years. | Ministers have ordered new checks to be carried out on hundreds of thousands of people vetted by the Security Industry Authority over the past three years. |
| The Home Office says the SIA did not check applicants were entitled to work in the UK before granting licences. | The Home Office says the SIA did not check applicants were entitled to work in the UK before granting licences. |
| The Tories said the system was "not fit for purpose" but the government said the new checks had "strengthened" it. | |
| According to the Sunday Mirror, illegal immigrants are working at airports, ports and the Metropolitan Police. | According to the Sunday Mirror, illegal immigrants are working at airports, ports and the Metropolitan Police. |
| The newspaper claimed 5,000 illegal immigrants were estimated to have been employed in posts such as security guards and bouncers. | The newspaper claimed 5,000 illegal immigrants were estimated to have been employed in posts such as security guards and bouncers. |
| Removal from UK | Removal from UK |
| The Home Office said the SIA, which it set up to regulate the security industry, took immediate action as soon as they became aware some licence-holders had been employed illegally. | The Home Office said the SIA, which it set up to regulate the security industry, took immediate action as soon as they became aware some licence-holders had been employed illegally. |
| "From July this year, all new applicants have been granted a licence only if they are entitled to seek work in the UK," a department spokesman said. | "From July this year, all new applicants have been granted a licence only if they are entitled to seek work in the UK," a department spokesman said. |
| Public confidence in the government's handling of immigration will take yet another hammering Nick Clegg, Lib Dems | |
| He added that checks on all existing licence-holders will be completed shortly and anyone found to be working illegally would have their licence taken away and would face removal from the UK. | He added that checks on all existing licence-holders will be completed shortly and anyone found to be working illegally would have their licence taken away and would face removal from the UK. |
| The spokesman stressed employers were legally responsible for ensuring their staff were entitled to work in Britain. | The spokesman stressed employers were legally responsible for ensuring their staff were entitled to work in Britain. |
| He added that ID cards were being introduced for foreign nationals in 2008 which would "strengthen the fight" against illegal immigration. | He added that ID cards were being introduced for foreign nationals in 2008 which would "strengthen the fight" against illegal immigration. |
| Shadow immigration minister Damian Green said: "What is extraordinary about this latest Home Office fiasco is that we have been through this before. | |
| "Last year the Home office discovered it was employing illegal immigrants as cleaners in the immigration department itself. | |
| "From these new revelations it looks like no effective action was taken to check who has access to some of the most sensitive buildings in this country. | |
| "It looks like the Home Office is still not fit for purpose." | |
| Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said: "Public confidence in the government's handling of immigration will take yet another hammering with this revelation. | |
| "It is impossible to promote the merits of a fair and effective immigration system as long as the government mixes headline-grabbing populism with serial administrative incompetence." | |
| The SIA has cleared 250,000 applicants since it first started issuing licences in 2004. | The SIA has cleared 250,000 applicants since it first started issuing licences in 2004. |