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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For more information on how you can migrate to Canada - CLICK HERE

Over £3.4million has been paid in bonuses to staff at the Home Office headquarters and the UK Border Agency in 2008-09, Immigration Minister Phil Woolas admitted.

The revealation came out in a House of Commons written reply to questions, where Mr Woolas said that 6,036 payments were made relating to ‘exceptional’ performance the previous year.

He told Shadow Treasury chief secretary Philip Hammond that the ‘non-consolidated performance payments’ comprised 0.5 per cent of a total pay bill of £750million.

Immigration Matters Comment

Whether we like it or not the UK Border Agency is actually a ‘business’, albeit an offshoot of the Home Office, and like most business has targets and performance based rewards.

But is it right or moral that servants of the state should receive bonuses for meeting a target for the number of people they deport?

The UK Border Agency also spends millions more than it earns in visa fees, so why is a loss making business paying out bonuses to its staff?

In the current climate the news will be another blow to the Brown Government still reeling from the MP’s expenses scandal.

The news will also not go down well with migrants who are having to pay inflation busting fees to work, study or remain in the UK.

What’s your view?

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In a brief statement to a packed House of Commons he said he would step down on 21 June, with his successor set to be elected by MPs the next day. 

Mr Martin, who will also step down as an MP, has faced criticism over his handling of the MP expenses issue. 

The Glasgow North East MP has been an MP for 30 years and Speaker for nine. 

In a statement to MPs on today which lasted less than a minute, Mr Martin said: 

“I have always felt that the House is at its best when it is united. 

“In order to that unity can be maintained, I have decided that I will relinquish office of Speaker on Sunday 21 June. 

“This will allow the House to proceed to elect a new Speaker on Monday 22 June.” 

He finished by adding “that is all I have to say on this matter” before going on to ask for questions to Foreign Secretary David Miliband. 

Mr Miliband said the House would respect his wishes and pay its tributes at “a later date”. 

But Mr Martin’s critics say he was the driving force behind repeated attempts by Commons authorities to block details of MPs’ expenses from coming out under Freedom of Information legislation. 

Supporters say he has long been the victim of class snobbery and has been made a scapegoat for a scandal perpetrated by MP’s from all the main parties. 

In other events linked to the row over MPs’ second homes expenses, the Metropolitan Police have said they will not investigate how details of claims came to be leaked to the Daily Telegraph. 

The Telegraph has obtained a CD containing over a million documents concerning MP’s expense claims, and has been publishing embarrassing details every day for the past two weeks. 

Among the more outlandish revelations are expense claims for clearing a Moat and interest for a non-existent mortgage on a second home. 

Current Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and former Immigration Ministers Liam Byrne and Tony McNulty have all hit the headlines over their expenses or second homes. 

Jacqui Smith is expected to be moved to a lower profile job over her “main residence” row and claims by her husband for pornographic movies. 

Mr Byrne tops the Sunday Times league table of MP’s expenses with claims of £478,536. 

Member of Parliament for Harrow (a suburb of London) Tony McNulty, was lambasted for claiming that his parents house in Hammersmith was his main residence, allowing him to claim expenses and relief against his mortgage on his “second” home in his constituency. 

The anger felt against politicians is unprecedented in recent history. There have been calls for Prime Minister Gordon Brown to a General Election. 

Mr Martin’s resignation is unlikely to change the mood in the country and the scandal could yet bring down the Government. 

Independent MEP candidate for London, Gene Alcantara, commented: 

“It is right that the Speaker finally gave in to demands for him to resign as he played a pivotal role in prolonging and covering up sleaze in Parliament. 

“All we need now is to persuade Gordon Brown to call an early election so that we can rebuild fresh, clean and honest politics in Britain.” 

Thousands of migrants are concerned about the Borders Immigration and Citizenship Bill, currently going through Parliament, and whether an early election would have any effect on the outcome.

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Two Tamil asylum seekers win the right to stay in the UK after threatening to kill themselves if they are sent home.

The landmark ruling was granted to a brother and sister who said they would commit suicide if forced to return to Sri Lanka, where both were raped and tortured in prison.

The ground-breaking case has hige implications for immigration law, which will have to change if the decision opens the floodgates to others mounting similar appeals.

It could even mean changing European human rights laws with the help of our EU allies.

Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas is to contest the decision, fearing it could leave him powerless to deport any asylum seeker who threatened suicide.

Mr Woolas told The People:

“We will appeal and consider our legal options. The judgement goes well beyond the intention of Parliament and defies common sense.

” The ruling in the Appeal Court last Wednesday applied to siblings who have been battling against deportation since arriving here in October 2003.

The Government will now take the case to the House of Lords in a bid to get the decision overturned. A change in the law will follow if that appeal fails.

Home Office insiders say the brother and sister could go back to Sri Lanka safely and it was only their “subjective fear” which made them suicidal.

But Appeal Court judges said the pair’s “only perceived means of escape” from their situation would be to take their own lives, which would make deporting them a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Lord Justice Sedley, sitting with Lady Justice Arden and Lord Justice Moses, said:

“Hope can alleviate intolerable stress. Take away hope and stress may become unbearable.

“Lifting the threat of removal would remove one of the principal sources of depression.

” Sri Lanka – racked for years by war with Tamil separatists – has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

Mr Woolas released new figures showing 60,000 appeals are now coming before immigration tribunals, resulting in a total of 4,474 judicial reviews last year.

Thousands of Tamils are mounting a daily protest and hunger strike outside the Commons demanding the UK puts more pressure on Sri Lanka to improve their human rights

And the Institute for Public Policy Research today calls for an amnesty for illegal immigrants so they could pay £1billion in taxes.

See Strangers into Citizens rally 4 May 2009.

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Mr Speaker, this Government respects the will of the House of Commons. As the Prime Minister said today, this Government took the first action to provide justice for the Gurkhas and enable them to settle in the United Kingdom. 

• Under this Government, the first ever rights of settlement for Gurkhas in Britain have been granted, and 6,000 of them have applied successfully to settle in this country 
• We have also introduced equal pay and pensions for the Gurkhas-something that had not happened previously 
• We doubled the pensions of people staying in Nepal and increased the overall pension for Gurkhas, especially those at a senior age  

The guidance we introduced last week will increase the number of Gurkhas eligible to come to this country by 4,000 or, including families, about 10,000 people. 

However we recognise the strong feeling on all sides of the House on this issue. As was recognised in the debate this afternoon, this is a complex issue with wide ranging implications. The cost of implementing the decision of the House of Commons could well run into billions of pounds. The Government also has an obligation to consider the precedent for future decisions on other immigration categories, and wider government policy. We cannot therefore responsibly or fairly rush into the formulation of new policy. We can and do commit to immediate action on individual cases, and are setting a clear timeframe for the next stage of our reform. 

In light of the decision of the House, I am bringing forward the date for determination of the outstanding applications to the end of May. This will ensure that those who qualify under the guidelines now in force get confirmation of this as soon as possible. We will report to the House the outcome of this work. 

And based on this work, and recognising the strong feeling of the House, we will come forward with proposals for the next stage of our reform of the rules, to ensure this Government continues to deliver a fair outcome for ex-Gurkhas and their families. We will publish this next stage before the Summer Recess. 

I said in the House earlier today that we cannot foresee circumstances in which ex Gurkhas in the United Kingdom, who have served this country so well, would ever be removed from the United Kingdom. I can now say in addition that anyone whose case is considered under the current guidelines and does not qualify, whether in the United Kingdom or in Nepal, will not have that decision implemented pending the publication of the next stage of our reform. 

The House of Commons Select Committee on Home Affairs has indicated its intention to conduct a hearing on this issue next week. I welcome that. In addition I will share our review of the applications with the Committee once completed.

We will consider the guidelines published last Friday in light of the decision of the House today and will bring forward proposals based on the experience of our consideration of the outstanding applications.

Source: UK Border Agency 

Comment

Whilst Mr Woolas can rightly argue that is has done more for the Gurkhas than the previous Tory Goverment, Gordon Brown has misjudged the mood of the public and his own party and in the process scored a huge own goal.

ILPA members (Immigration Law Practitioners Association) have been scrutinising the Bill for several months, working with the Government and recommending amendments. 

There were some, on the whole minor, amendments to tidy it up.  Of significance is an amendment to what is currently clause 39. This clause was newly inserted at Report which seeks to preserve the current route to citizenship for some migrants already on the route to citizenship when the Bill takes effect.  

The change means that those who are able to make an Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) application within 12 months of the new naturalisation provisions coming into force, should be able to do so regardless of the new provisions. This is in addition to the protection the clause would give to those who had got as far as making an ILR application (or Further Leave to Remain) on the route to citizenship. 

The Minister gave notice that the Government will return to this matter, and the defeat it suffered in relation to transfer of judicial reviews, in the House of Commons; and, although the intention was not made so clear, indicated that the Common Travel Area defeat would also be returned to there. 

It is expected that the Bill will commence its passage through the Commons and should be on the statute book no later than the summer recess. 

Congratulations to the ILPA working group for the sterling work they have put on behalf of migrant workers and their families.

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