UK Immigration News

The UK's chief inspector of immigration John Vine has released an extremely critical report which accuses the UK Border Agency (UKBA) of incompetence, inefficiency, poor customer service, a lack of security and dishonesty. It says that UKBA staff misled parliament, probably deliberately, and left young, unaccompanied asylum seekers in limbo for lengthy periods while their claims lay forgotten. The report deals with the UKBA's attempts to deal with a historic backlog of asylum cases.

A small, peaceful protest was held on Sunday 18th November 2012 in the town of Boston in the county of Lincolnshire, England, against the high level of immigration from eastern Europe. About 300 people attended the event. Boston had a population of 35,000 at the time of the 2001 census. Since then, it is estimated that some 9,000 eastern Europeans have moved into the town, increasing the population and, local people say, putting pressure on local infrastructure and services. They complain that there are no longer jobs for many native English people.

Chris Ball, chief executive of The Age and Employment Network, has stated that UK companies who employ immigrant workers to fill skilled vacancies are 'lazy'. The Age and Employment Network is a n organisation that 'promotes an effective job market that serves the needs of people in mid and later life'.

Mr Ball says that the level of training in the UK is inadequate for the modern economy. He says 'skills scarcities are accelerating in some industries while in others we are burdened with a superabundance of people trained in skills we really don't need.'

A leading academic has written a letter to the prestigious Financial Times newspaper complaining that the UK government's immigration policy is damaging the higher education sector.

The UK's biggest supermarket Tesco has been fined £115,000 for breaches of the rules concerning the employment of foreign nationals.

On 21st July 2012, UK Border Agency staff went to Tesco's internet grocery distribution centre in Farm Lane, Croydon, south London, and arrested over 30 people, mainly of Bangladeshi and Indian origin.

The Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, John Cridland has spoken out against the UK government's commitment to cut net inward immigration into the UK from outside the EU to 'tens of thousands' per year by 2015. He says that the government should drop the target. London Mayor Boris Johnson also attacked the government for damaging the UK's higher education sector.