Lax immigration standards ‘could be exploited by terrorists’
By Jon Ashford
Just 29 of 66,000 people applying for visas were interviewed by British immigration officers based in Pakistan between October and June this year.
The revelation has renewed concerns over would-be terrorists slipping through a faulty immigration system.
In Manchester earlier this year, 12 men were arrested on suspicion of planning a terrorist act. All but one arrived in the UK, from Pakistan, on a student visa.
They were later released and deported, as it was felt they posed a national security risk.
This was followed by revelations that interviews with applicants were often conducted by phone, even with candidates over whom doubts had been raised.
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling expressed fears that the system was “being abused by people who have no right to come to the UK”.
But, “more importantly”, he said “there are clear security issues, too. It’s clear that the checks in our immigration system are wholly inadequate”.
Phil Woolas, minister for borders and immigration, dismissed fears the system was flawed.
“Every application for a visa to the UK from Pakistan is scrutinised by highly trained staff, who are experts in detecting fraud and forgery,” he said.
“Every applicant is required to attend in person so fingerprints can be taken and their details are subsequently checked against a range of watch lists. If there is still any doubt, we can conduct face-to-face interviews.”
A new ‘hub and spoke’ network was introduced by the Home Office in October, where the visa applications of a number of countries, including Pakistan, passed to Abu Dhabi for a final decision.
