Immigration minister resigns for employing illegal immigrant
Prime minister accepts resignation of Mark Harper, who launched government’s 'go home' campaign last year
February 8, 2014
The immigration minister, Mark Harper, has resigned for employing an illegal immigrant as a cleaner, Downing Street said on Saturday.
Number 10 said there was "no suggestion that Mr Harper knowingly employed an illegal immigrant" but the prime minister, David Cameron, had "accepted his resignation with regret".
Last year Harper launched a government advertising campaign that targeted racially mixed areas with
In his resignation letter Harper said that while he had not broken the law as an employer, he believed that his position meant he must "hold myself to a higher standard than expected of others".
He conceded that he "should have checked more thoroughly" when he took on the highly sensitive role that the documents provided by the cleaner were genuine.
In 2007 when she was recruited to look after his London flat he was given a copy of her passport and a Home Office letter stating that she had indefinite leave to remain in the UK and the right to work and run a business.
Last month — mindful that he was steering the immigration bill through the Commons and publicly warning employers of the need to check the status of employees — he sought fresh evidence.
On Thursday morning, he said, he was informed after checking with immigration officials that she was in the country illegally.
"I immediately notified the home secretary and my permanent secretary. This is now a matter for immigration enforcement," he wrote.[More]
