Blunkett faces second visa allegations
The Home Secretary David Blunkett is facing fresh allegations about his conduct this morning, after a number of newspapers reported that the nanny of his former lover had a tourist visa application for Austria rushed through.
Mr Blunkett’s office has categorically denied that the Home Secretary or his officials had any involvement in the granting of the visa, although it has been confirmed that he discussed the matter with Mrs Quinn.
It is reported that Mrs Quinn’s Filipino nanny was originally told that she was too late to obtain a tourist visa to visit family in Austria over Christmas 2002, but after her employer made a “phone call” the tourist visa was obtained during a matter of days.
The new story was run in today’s Daily Mail – the paper which earlier published letters about the nanny’s visa application for residency in the UK.
Mr Blunkett is already under investigation from the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards over misuse of a MP’s rail ticket. Mr Blunkett gave the ticket to his then partner Mrs Quinn, but he has since accepted this was a mistake and the tickets were only meant for spouses, so has repaid the money.
Sir Philip Mawer is expected to report on the results of his preliminary inquiry before Christmas.
When allegations were first published about the residency application being ‘fast-tracked’, Mr Blunkett announced that he would be setting up an independent inquiry. This is being chaired by Sir Alan Budd, former Treasury mandarin. He is also expected to report by Christmas, but opposition parties have already begun complaining that the scope of the inquiry is too narrow.
It is not yet known whether these new visa allegations will be included in the inquiry.
Tony Blair has repeatedly insisted that the Home Secretary has his full support, and despite the publication of Mr Blunkett’s unflattering views of other members in the Cabinet, they have also offered their support.
