UK NEWS

LABOUR'S MIGRATION 'COVER-UP'

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said the Home Office mounted a cover-up

Tuesday November 10,2009

By Macer Hall

LABOUR ministers were yesterday accused of seeking to “deliberately deceive” voters over the Government’s relaxation of immigration controls.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said the Home Office mounted a cover-up to hide details of the open-door border policy.

The row erupted after Home Secretary Alan Johnson called for a “national debate” on immigration policy. And he admitted Labour’s refusal to discuss immigration had helped fuel support for the British National Party.

The Tories said ministers attempted to suppress a document revealing how officials had been encouraged to “take risks” to clear a backlog of visa and work permit applications.

EXPRESS COMMENT: THE LEFT HAS NEVER WANTED A DEBATE ON IMMIGRATION

The move is said to have allowed 20 members of the Taliban into Britain.

Yesterday in the Commons, Mr Grayling said: “I have copies of those documents and they are clearly marked ‘Withhold’ at the top.

“This is a Government that has set out to deliberately deceive the British people and a Government that has proved utterly incapable of telling the truth about its immigration policies.”

Immigration Minister Phil Woolas dismissed the attack as a “political gimmick”.

Earlier Mr Johnson’s comments contrasted with Labour ministers’ habit of smearing critics of mass immigration as racists. He said: “People think we have shied away from a debate on it. They may well be right. My post bag is bigger on immigration than any other issue.”