Blair plans immigration summit
Tony Blair is set to hold an immigration summit today.
The government has faced a week of allegations over its handling of immigration, with the Conservatives claiming that ministers have lost control of the situation.
Last Thursday immigration minister Beverley Hughes quit after unintentionally misleading people over how much she knew about an alleged visa scam.
With the Tories seeking to inflict as much damage as possible on the government, Tony Blair has promised to take a personal interest in the issue.
He will meet with home secretary David Blunkett and attorney general Lord Goldsmith to develop a strategy for getting a grip on immigration and drawing a line under the recent problems. Foreign secretary Jack Straw is widely tipped to return from for the summit, he is currently accompanying the Queen on her state visit to France.
Mr Blair’s official spokesman told journalists yesterday that the PM was “determined” not to allow abuses of the system to “poison” the idea of managed migration.
Shadow home secretary David Davis was less convinced about the goals of the summit.
“If the other previous summits are anything to go by, we don’t hold out much hope for this one,” he said. “Another gimmick summit from a government who has lost control of the immigration crisis and the trust of the British people.
“The most responsible course of action would be to agree to an independent inquiry.
“Instead, the impression so far is no real sense of urgency to tackle these critical issues.
“Tony Blair and David Blunkett should take responsibility for this mess. We want real action, not headline grabbing stunts.”
