Mr Clark was suspended following claims that he relaxed passport checks at UK borders beyond what Home Secretary Theresa May had agreed to in a trial.

MPs on the Commons Home Affairs Committee also questioned the UK Border Agency’s Chief Executive, Rob Whiteman.

He said Mr Clark dropped fingerprint checks without telling ministers, even though they had rejected such a move.

Mr Clark stepped down after the relaxation of border checks was revealed, saying his position had been made “untenable”.

But he told MPs he “did not extend or alter” the pilot scheme “in any way whatsoever” and was “meticulous” in ensuring senior staff were briefed on it.

The committee’s chairman, the Labour MP Keith Vaz, says he is “determined to get to the bottom of this serious breach of security”.

Mrs May says she authorised the relaxation of some checks on children from the European Economic Area (EEA) and some extra checks on EEA adults under “limited circumstances” at peak times – but claims Mr Clark allowed officials to go further, without ministerial approval.

But Mr Clark told MPs: “I introduced no additions to the Home Secretary’s trial, neither did I extend it or alter it in any way whatsoever.

“I was meticulous in ensuring that my top operational team and my senior port managers had complete clarity on the Home Secretary’s requirements.”

He said he “reported weekly to the Home Secretary as she had required” and insisted the trial had “delivered exactly as she had wished”.

He added: “I am no rogue officer. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Mr Clark said the pilot was “overlaid” on top of “long-standing contingency arrangements” in place since 2007, which allowed staff at ports to relax certain checks at particularly busy times.

Asked whether ministers knew about this option, he said: “I would be surprised if they did not know these policies or understand them.”

He added: “I made no connection between business as usual under these circumstances and the pilot operation.”

The 2007 guidance does not permit the relaxation of fingerprint checks – indeed, they were not introduced until after it was written – and does not allow any reduction in checks for non-EEA nationals.

The guidance does allow border staff to forgo checks on EEA passengers against the warnings index of terrorists and criminals when queues become dangerously long.

But Mr Clark told MPs he believed the warnings index was more important, so he chose to relax fingerprint checks instead without asking ministers.

He acknowledged that the Home Secretary had ruled out doing this as part of the pilot scheme, but said she had made no mention of being against it being done for health and safety reasons at busy times.

“I did it to preserve the safety of the UK, not to weaken it,” he said.

Mr Whiteman said it was “disingenuous” of Mr Clark not to give ministers the “full picture” of other policies that were in use when they were setting up the pilot.

“Ministers had been clear that they did want that check [fingerprints] to take place,” he said.

Giving his evidence after Mr Clark, Mr Whiteman said ministers were “not aware of an older policy that was being used” to justify scrapping some checks.

He said it was “disingenuous” of Mr Clark not to give ministers the “full picture” of other policies that were in use when they were setting up the pilot.

“Ministers had been clear that they did want that check [fingerprints] to take place,” he said.

Mr Whiteman said that in a meeting he had with Mr Clark, the ex-border force chief was “clear that ministers had no knowledge of health and safety provisions under which he was suspending secure ID [fingerprint checks]“.

He added: “From what I see the 2007 guidance has been stretched. It’s being used on more occasions than in really dire health and safety circumstances.”

Mrs May said last week that officials had been able to relax border checks for several years “in order to ensure flows through” arrivals, but she insisted the 2007 guidance “does not allow a decision to be made to significantly change the checks at the border”.

Mr Clark added: “Over 40 years I have built up a reputation and over two days that reputation has been destroyed and I believe that has been largely because of the contribution made by the Home Secretary.”

He said he was initially suspended and offered retirement by Mr Whiteman, with a “good package” and “a good reference”.

But after he had decided to accept, he was told the following day there had been a “change of mind”, the offer was withdrawn and there would be no package.

Mr Whiteman told MPs that retirement was discussed, but the permanent secretary at the Home Office had intervened and made clear it would not be appropriate, given that Mr Clark could face disciplinary proceedings.

Earlier, in a response to a written question from Mr Vaz, the Home Secretary revealed that the pilot applied to 28 ports and airports.

They included Heathrow, Gatwick, Calais, Coquelles, Glasgow, Harwich, Manchester Airport, Aberdeen and Cardiff.

She also disclosed that more than 10 million people entered the UK in August when the pilot scheme was operating.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said there had been a “borders fiasco” as she asked an urgent question in the Commons on the situation.

Home Office Minister Damian Green replied to the question, saying that any changes made had been to toughen up border controls.

Mrs May has announced three inquiries into what happened, the main one led by the Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency, John Vine. Source: BBC.

See also:

Official statement by Rob Whiteman, UK Border Agency chief executive on the Brodie Clark border control affair

UK Border Force Chief Brodie Clark quits claiming constructive dismissal against Home Secretary

UK border force head suspended

English UK seeks apology from Home Office over ‘bogus colleges’ claim

Restrictions on Romanian workers in the UK labour market are ‘discriminatory’, says Keith Vaz MP

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In what will be seen as a personal victory for Home Secretary Theresa May, an immigration tribunal found Salah was guilty of ‘fostering hatred’.

His presence in the country could lead to ‘inter-community violence’, the tribunal found.

Salah, a self-styled Palestinian ‘sheikh’, was banned from entering Britain in June this year.

But just days later, he waltzed through immigration controls at Heathrow.

After three days in which he was free to speak to supporters across the country, he was finally arrested and put in immigration detention.

But he was released on bail while wearing an electronic tag.

He was accused in Parliament of ‘virulent anti-Semitism’ and in the past has claimed the Israeli government was responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

Mrs May said his presence here was not ‘conducive to the public good’ because of his extremist statements.

In its ruling, the tribunal made clear removing him was in the public interest and said he had engaged in ‘unacceptable behaviour’.

They said: ‘We are satisfied that the appellant’s words and actions tend to be inflammatory, divisive, insulting, and likely to foment tension and radicalism.’

Salah has several days to appeal to the High Court and then another 72 hours before he can be deported, so the earliest he could be on a plane is next Friday.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We will seek to deport him at the earliest opportunity.’ Source: Daily Mail.

See also:

UK population forecasters predict ’70 million by 2027′ much of it due to immigration

Points Based System appeals ‘new evidence’ Upper Tribunal ruling

Tier 4 blacklisted financial institutions published by UK Border Agency as the heat is turned up on fraudulent student visa applications

UK rioters came from 44 countries and 1 in 7 jailed after summer of violence was a foreign national

Children’s Society say immigrant Child detention is ‘excessive’

EU free movement rules put ‘patients at risk’ Lords say

Shortage occupations list for Tier 2 gets shorter

Britain opts out of EU asylum directive

Convicted drug dealer avoids deportation twice

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This week a cabinet minister, UK Business Secretary Vince Cable, unusually spoke out against official government policy.

Labour trafficking suspects arrested

The UK Border Agency reports that three Indian men have been arrested by immigration officers, in conjunction with Northamptonshire Police, in Kettering as part of an investigation into suspected labour trafficking.

Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Britain

Pope Benedict XVI arrived this morning in Edinburgh at the start of the first papal visit to the UK for 28 years.

Lord Bingham ‘the greatest judge of our time’ dies aged 76

Britain lost one of its greatest judges this week when Lord Bingham past away.

Sham marriage fixer guilty

A Portuguese man admitted acting as a ‘fixer’ in a sham marriage at a Bristol church, The UK Border Agency reports.

Former Immigration Minister Phil Woolas campaign ‘to make white folk angry’

The BBC reports that the former immigration minister Phil Woolas set out to “make the white folk angry” in his election campaign, a specially convened court heard.

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His defeated Lib Dem rival, Elwyn Watkins, is challenging his re-election as Oldham East and Saddleworth MP.

Mr Watkins claims the vote was swayed by Labour leaflets containing false claims, in the first case of its kind for 99 years.

Mr Woolas, who won with a majority of just 103 votes, denies the allegations.

He says he will “robustly defend” himself.

The court heard on Monday that diary entries kept by Labour MP Mr Woolas during the election campaign show he was “pretty convinced” he was going to lose.

Counsel for Mr Watkins Helen Mountfield QC said Mr Woolas was concerned about the effects of an anti-Labour swing nationally, the expenses scandal and decisions taken by him as immigration minister, adding: “Mr Woolas and his team were playing for high stakes and came up with a strategy to deal with the perceived Liberal Democrat threat which they themselves described as ‘risky’.”

“They set out to attack Mr Watkins personally and say whatever it took to turn the electorate against him.”

The court was told that false statements were made in three publications on behalf of Mr Woolas in the run-up to the election.

The BBC’s political editor for the North West Arif Ansari said Mr Woolas’s team would argue that the statements they made were true. Mr Woolas is due to take the stand later in the week.

Two High Court judges will rule on whether there should be a re-run of the Oldham East election, in a case brought under the rarely-used section 106 of the Representation of the People Act (1983).

Under the act, anyone involved in an election who “makes or publishes any false statement of fact in relation to the candidate’s personal character or conduct” is guilty of an illegal practice – unless they can show “reasonable grounds for believing, and did believe, that statement to be true”.

Saddleworth Civic Hall, where Parish Council meetings are often held, is temporarily becoming an election court – in the first case of its kind in 99 years – for the hearing, which is scheduled to last five days.

Legally, the onus is on Mr Watkins to prove his case if he is to win.

If found guilty, Mr Woolas could be fined and barred from public office, with a fresh election triggered. Source BBC.

Whilst in office the former Labour minister presided over the biggest overhaul of the immigration regime for 60 years, including the introduction of much of the points based system and Tier 4 for students.

See also:

Weekly UK Immigration News Round up 12 September 2010

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Conservative London Mayor Boris Johnson has broken party ranks over immigration, warning that plans to limit the number of migrants to Britain will damage the economy.

UK Border Agency announce new fee increase for immigration and nationality applications

The UK Border Agency has announced plans to increase immigration and nationality application fees for all those applying to visit, study, work or stay in the UK from autumn 2010.

Immigration Minister outlines evidence for UK immigration policy change

Immigration Minister Damian Green said the government will ensure that the UK maximises the benefits of immigration.

Government MAC adviser says dependant visas must be cut as part of immigration cap

A leading UK government adviser says ministers may need to stop workers bringing in families, on dependent visas, to meet immigration cap targets.

Sham marriage vicar jailed for four years

The Church of England vicar involved in carrying out hundreds of fake marriages to bypass immigration law has been jailed for four years.

Smarter immigration controls needed says Minister Damian Green

Speaking to the Royal Commonwealth Society this evening, the UK Immigration Minister, Damian Green, will confirm that the government will look at all routes into the UK and set new rules, the Home Office announced today.

Minister to announce crackdown on student visa numbers today

The number of foreign, non-EU students currently being let into the UK is “unsustainable”, Immigration Minister Damian Green will announce today the BBC has reported.

Weekly UK Immigration News Round up 05 September 2010

Weekly Immigration News Round up 05 September 2010 form http://www.immigrationmatters.co.uk/category/news

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A firm called ‘KGB Cleaners’ employing illegal workers in the House of Commons. You couldn’t make it up!

Migrating to Canada: eligibility criteria for federal skilled worker applications

Want to migrate to Canada under the federal skilled worker scheme? Check out the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website, which outlines the following changes to the elligibility critieria effective 26 June 2010

Domestic Worker OFW jumps to her death from 7th floor condo with umbrella

Filipino migrant rights group is urging the Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia to investigate the death of an unidentified overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who supposedly jumped out of the window of her employer’s condominium unit on the 7th floor of a building using an umbrella as a parachute to escape

Migrant millionaire entrepreneur Vijay Patel honoured by De Montfort University

Indian-origin entrepreneur Vijay Patel, who came to Britain from Kenya 40 years ago with only five pounds in his pocket but went on to find riches in the pharmaceuticals industry, has been honoured by his old university.

POEA opens Regional offices for returning OFWs

Returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), or “balikmanggagawa,” from Pangasinan and Ilocos Norte can now process their overseas employment certificates (OECs) without going to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) head office in Mandaluyong City.

Net immigration figure pose a problem for UK Prime Minister Cameron

Last week’s figures showing a sharp rise in immigration into the UK is sure to add to the pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to say how his proposed cap on annual immigration will work and at what level it will be set, the Financial Times reports.

See also:

Massive Job Opportunities in Canada

Why the world wants to be Canadian

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info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Illegal immigrants have been discovered working as cleaners at the House of Commons – an embarrassing security breach at the supposedly tightly guarded building, the Daily Mail reports.

All staff at the Palace of Westminster are required to undergo stringent background checks by police and the security services before being issued passes to the heart of Britain’s Government.

But this did not stop around ten  illegal immigrants getting jobs with KGB Cleaners, the outsourcing firm with the contract to clean lavatories, sweep corridors and polish floors in the Palace of Westminster.

The breach is all the more astounding as the cleaners would have enjoyed unchecked access to the offices of MPs and senior Government Ministers, including Prime Minister David Cameron.

Last week the Home Office refused to say how many illegal immigrants had been discovered working at the Palace and for how long.

The group was rounded up after inquiries by the UK Borders Agency, and officials refused to give more details citing ‘on-going inquiries’.

But the Metropolitan Police were called in to arrest at least one of the immigrants, a 44-year-old Nigerian man, who was held at work at the Palace of Westminster on August 12 before being handed over to immigration officials.

It is understood he is now being held in a secure immigration holding centre awaiting removal from the UK.

The other individuals are understood to have been detained by UK Borders staff elsewhere and are also believed to have told they will be removed from Britain.

Last night a spokeswoman for the Palace of Westminster confirmed a number of people working as cleaners had been detained for immigration offences.

She said the group of ‘less than ten’ individuals had all been vetted when they first began working at the Houses of Parliament and had all been cleared by security officials.

However, she said, it was believed the immigration status of the individuals had changed and that they had failed to notify their employers or the Palace authorities.

She said it is thought several of the individuals were asylum seekers who had exhausted all avenues of appeal and had been told to leave Britain.

Others, she said, were understood to be over-stayers whose work visas or leave to remain in Britain had expired.

The latest blunder comes after a series of similarly embarrassing security breaches during the Labour Government’s years in office including the discovery that illegal immigrants were employed as cleaners in the Home Office department responsible for kicking them out of the country.

The five Nigerians were caught as they turned up for work at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate office in London. It is also not the first time KGB Cleaners, which employs 120 staff at the Commons, has been at the centre of controversy.

Last year cleaners at the House of Commons threatened strike action after being denied a 45p pay rise.

KGB took over cleaning services at the House of Commons in September 2008, giving existing staff a 60p rise to £7 an hour in line with the London Living Wage – a minimum pay level calculated to reflect the capital’s cost of living.

When the London Living Wage rose to £7.45 the company at first refused to raise wages accordingly.

The firm – named after the initials of its founders Kevan and Gina Brown – was set up in 1994 to, according to its website, ‘create an innovative environment where the expectations of both clientele and staff will be consistently met’.

The company has an annual turnover of £26 million.

Employers discovered using illegal immigrants are normally issued with a notification of potential liability and face a fine of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker.

Bosses also have a duty to check that employees are entitled to work in the United Kingdom. Source: Daily Mail.

See also:

Nine illegal workers in care home deported – 6 Filipinos sent home

CYNTHIA BARKER SAYS CARERS AND CHEFS TO BE REMOVED FROM SHORTAGE OCCUPATION LIST

Net immigration figure pose a problem for UK Prime Minister Cameron

Massive Job Opportunities in Canada

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John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, cited a report posted on the Saudi Gazette website last Wednesday September 1.

The news item said the incident transpired Tuesday on Sultana Street in Madina, Saudi Arabia.

Witnesses said the umbrella used by the domestic worker “failed to open at the right moment and the maid came crashing down on the pavement to die instantly.”

Eyewitnesses added that the domestic worker first tossed out a bag containing her clothes and jumped with the umbrella in her hand.

Her employer, the news report said, who is known only by his initials M.O., said the building’s guard told him about the incident and said he found the umbrella hanging on the balcony. A knife used by the maid to open the tightly closed window was also found, he said.

At the request of the maid’s family, the employer said, she was buried at Baqe’e Al-Gargad in the Prophet’s City.

“Concerned fellow OFWs have called me last week and informed us about the death of a domestic worker who reportedly jumped to her death from the window of her employer’s flat on a higher floor of a building,” Monterona said.

However, Monterona pointed out the informants failed to identify the nationality and name of the victim upon his further query.

“Until we have read the news report from a local news website which we suspect is about the unconfirmed reports of what we have been receiving as the circumstances of her death are the same as what have been told to me last week by concerned fellow OFWs,” Monterona said.

“It is of particular interest and concern to us because of the unclear circumstances leading to the migrant worker’s death, aside from the need to establish the victim’s identity; what forced the worker to jump out of the building that led to her unfortunate death must be investigated and primarily established,” he said.

Monterona said Migrante-ME welfare case officers have handled cases of the same nature in the past involving abused and maltreated OFWs jumping from the building in their vain attempt to escape from abusive employers only to discover later from relative’s complaining that there was foul play involved. Source: Roy C. Mabasa, MB.com.ph

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Patel, 60, is today one of the richest men in Britain and ranks 141st in the Sunday Times Rich List. He was awarded an honorary degree by the De Montfort University, Leicester.

Now a pharmaceuticals tycoon, Patel studied pharmacy at University and graduated in 1973. He heads the globally successful company, Waymade Healthcare.

He and his older brother Bhiku head the company. They started with a single chemist’s shop in Essex, and now own a global company, marketing and distributing drugs to 110 countries.

Patel, who was awarded an honorary degree in business administration, said, “I had a dream to start my business when I was just 10 years old but I never dared to tell anyone. I never imagined this would happen, though, and I am so deeply humbled to be honoured by the university in this way.”

Patel grew up in difficult circumstances in Kenya. His father died when he was five, leaving his mother to bring up her children in an impoverished country.

He said, “My mother taught me a very important lesson – get the best education you possibly can. But I had no way of funding myself through it, so I picked myself up and headed to the UK with little more to my name than a bag full of ambition.”

Senior lecturer in business at De Montfort, Dr Robert Webber, said, “This is in honour of Dr Patel’s many achievements in business, nationally and internationally. It is a great pleasure to be honouring him in this way.” Source: Chai Samosa.

See also:

Weekly Immigration News Round up 29 August 2010

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Carole Spencer, 55, also allowed staff at Bessingby Hall Residential Nursing Home in Bridlington to doze off, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.

A care assistant photographed her sleeping and recorded her snoring.

The council said Spencer regularly slept on duty and this could have had “serious consequences” for patients.
Winsome Levy, chairman of the council’s conduct and competence committee panel, said: “She was in charge of night shifts in a care home, with up to 51 elderly, vulnerable patients.

“Some of them were terminally ill, two were unconscious, and they all needed constant care.”

Spencer, who had worked at the home since October 2006, would “usually” get her head down in the early hours and would often be joined by other nurses and care assistants.

On one occasion, the night of 18 January 2008, every member of staff took a nap at the same time.

After being reported to managers, Spencer complained that she was being “singled out” and claimed “they all do it”.

In a letter to the council, Spencer said she had “no cares” about the case and denounced the accusations as “lies”.

“She has consistently denied the allegations, and has shown no insight, regret or remorse,” said the panel chairman.

“She continues to seek to blame others.

“Her misconduct put her patients at risk and would undermine public confidence in the profession.”

Spencer could return to work only if she “changed her attitude, showed insight, and remedied her practice”, she added.

Spencer, from Bridlington, was found guilty of misconduct by sleeping on duty between September 2007 and February 2008, and by allowing staff to sleep between 4 October 2006 and 20 February 2008.

She did not attend the hearing in London. Source: Guide2Care.co.uk

See also:

Weekly Immigration News Round up 29 August 2010

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