...this is better.
Posted on 01/04/2006 4:36:55 AM PST by LibWhacker
The Home Office is to investigate allegations that immigration officials operated a "sex for visas" scam and ignored vital security checks.
Anthony Pamnani, a former administration officer at the Lunar House immigration processing centre in Croydon, south London, told The Sun newspaper that women were helped to stay in the UK in return for sex.
He also alleged that security checks were lax, making it easier for potential terrorists to sneak into the country.
According to the newspaper, Mr Pamnani, 23, alleged that attractive women applicants were seen first at the centre, which deals with 300,000 visa and asylum applications a year
"One girl came in and told us an admin officer had visited her flat and they had slept together. She got indefinite leave to stay," he said.
Brazilian women were given longer stays in the country than their boyfriends for no reason and passport pictures of women considered "ugly" were pinned up for the amusement of male staff.
The paper reported Mr Pamnani as saying: "Brazilian girls were treated best of all. If male and female migrants came in to extend their visas, the guy would get one year and the girl two - even if both had the same level of paperwork.
"The girl would only have to smile, bend over the desk and she'd get a longer stay."
Mr Pamnani said he had left his job in disgust at staff too lazy to check passports for criminal convictions and over instructions to let in more eastern Europeans at the expense of south Asians. He claimed he had complained about corruption but was ignored."
Tony McNulty, the immigration minister, said the allegations were "serious" and would be investigated but he praised the professionalism of staff at Lunar House.
"I have every confidence that staff within the Immigration and Nationality Directorate carry out their roles with professionalism and integrity," he added.
"There are clearly-established systems for staff to raise any concerns that they may have with working practices within their team and to take the issue further if they feel it is necessary. But clearly I will not condone this type of behaviour among staff."
Keith Best, chief executive of the Immigration Advisory Service, a charity helping refugees, said: "We have heard allegations of all sorts of things - sexual favours, bribes. Whether they are true or not is another matter. Some people might be complaining more about the refusal of their application than what has actually happened."
David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "Over the last two years we have seen immigration officers turning a blind eye to illegal immigrants to keep official figures down, visas and citizenship applications being rubber-stamped without proper checks, and scams in Romania and Bulgaria where people were given visas in the full knowledge their claims were fraudulent.
"Now we have extremely serious allegations of security breaches and corruption. How long is it going to take the Government to get this department sorted out?"
"The girl would only have to smile, bend over the desk and she'd get a longer stay."
Shall we be hearing from the femocrats? I think not.
Cut them a little slack. Gubmint workers can't get it any other way. < / sarcasm>
Pictures, man, pictures !
This is the UK, isn't it? I was told by colleagues in the UK that those who do the best at university go into public service.
But then that was 20 years ago.
And, hopefully, more pictures!!!!
I didn't know that Bill Clinton was running the Home Office!
Apparently I'm being censored? I didn't think I was breaking any rules.
"This is the UK, isn't it? I was told by colleagues in the UK that those who do the best at university go into public service."
It certainly used to be the case, but the prestige associated with fast track civil service entry (almost like an officer corp for public servants) has fallen so far behind on pay that young bright graduates would rather work for the large multinationals than the lower paying government.
One of the few better things the Labour goverment has started to do is bring in managers from the private sector on fixed term contracts to run large government projects and initiatives. It has bust the public sector pay scale - but you get what you pay for.
Admin grades in the government - as per all over the world - are numbskulls.
Liz, you came to mind for some reason.
Thanks for the clarification!
#9 The body is nice but that face would stop an 8 day clock.
Well, naturalmente.
How else is the headdress supposed to fit in frame?
Will investigate link later.
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