Home Office guard was illegal immigrant

Published on 24 Dec 2007

A Home Office security guard has been removed from his job and deportation proceedings begun after it was revealed the man was an illegal immigrant. The revelation comes weeks after the Home Secretary was forced to admit that thousands of illegal immigrants had obtained licenses to work as security guards.

The licenses, issued by the Security Industry Aucthority, are a legal requirement for anybody working as a security guard. The SIA has stressed that it is the duty of employers, in this case the Home Office, to check on the applicants legal status before employing them.

This latest revelation has further undermined the Home Office's stance on immigration and and raised questions over security at the department. Last year a report disclosed how cleaners at an immigration office in Croyden were also in Britain illegally.