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No 10 defends under-fire minister Minister faces immigration probe
(30 minutes later)
No 10 says it has "full confidence" in Attorney General Baroness Scotland amid claims she employed a woman allegedly not entitled to work in the UK. Immigration officials are investigating reports that an illegal worker was employed by the attorney general.
It emerged on Wednesday that Baroness Scotland employed Loloahi Tapui, from Tonga, for six months. She sacked her when told of her ineligibility. Baroness Scotland says she employed Loloahi Tapui in good faith and thought she was working in the UK legally.
Baroness Scotland has maintained she hired Ms Tapui in "good faith" and thought she was entitled to work. But under laws passed when she was a Home Office minister, even employers who unknowingly take on illegal workers face a £10,000 fine.
But the Conservatives said she had got things "badly wrong". The UK Border Agency said it would investigate in the same way it would "any allegation of illegal working".
Civil penalties "We will not provide a running commentary," a spokesman added.
Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act, employers who knowingly take on an illegal worker face a two-year prison sentence and an unlimited fine. Those who unknowingly take on illegal workers face a maximum £10,000 fine. Temporary visa
Baroness Scotland was a Home Office minister when the laws were drawn up. Employers are required to carry out appropriate checks to verify their staff's right to work in the UK - such as looking at passports and work permits and taking copies of relevant pages.
Despite No 10's support, the BBC's political correspondent Gillian Hargreaves said Baroness Scotland would remain under pressure until she clarified what documents she had viewed prior to hiring Ms Tapui. Those who unknowingly take on illegal workers face a maximum £10,000 fine. Those who knowingly do so face a two-year prison sentence and an unlimited fine.
I am sure she would have done everything that was proper and right Keith Vaz, Labour MP At no stage prior to the matter being raised did Baroness Scotland believe there was any question over Ms Tapui's entitlement to work Attorney general's spokesman
It is understood Ms Tapui arrived in the UK in 2003 on a temporary visa which has since expired. The Daily Mail reported on Wednesday that Baroness Scotland employed Loloahi Tapui, from Tonga, for six months. It is understood Ms Tapui arrived in the UK in 2003 on a temporary visa which has since expired.
Baroness Scotland sacked her when told of her ineligibility.
Gordon Brown's spokesman said: "The prime minister is aware of the statement and has full confidence in Baroness Scotland. He thinks she's doing a very good job as attorney general."
'Good faith'
A spokesman for Baroness Scotland said she had "never knowingly employed an illegal immigrant", adding that she had hired the help in "good faith".A spokesman for Baroness Scotland said she had "never knowingly employed an illegal immigrant", adding that she had hired the help in "good faith".
"She saw documents which led her to believe that Ms Tapui was entitled to work in this country," he said."She saw documents which led her to believe that Ms Tapui was entitled to work in this country," he said.
"At no stage prior to the matter being raised did Baroness Scotland believe there was any question over Ms Tapui's entitlement to work.""At no stage prior to the matter being raised did Baroness Scotland believe there was any question over Ms Tapui's entitlement to work."
Ms Tapui, who is believed to have been married to a UK national, was in registered employment before being hired and had been paying tax and national insurance, he added. Loloahi Tapui worked in Baroness Scotland's London house. Picture credit: James Emmett - Daily Mail
The spokesman said Ms Tapui had been "dismissed with immediate effect". He also said she had been paying tax and national insurance.
When measures were introduced in 2008 to crack down on the employment of illegal workers, the then home secretary Jacqui Smith said they would deter "slipshod recruitment methods". But BBC political correspondent Gillian Hargreaves said Baroness Scotland would remain under pressure until she clarified what documents she had viewed before hiring Ms Tapui.
Keith Best, of the Immigration Advisory Service, said employers had to comply with Border Agency guidelines - including checking visa status on passports.Keith Best, of the Immigration Advisory Service, said employers had to comply with Border Agency guidelines - including checking visa status on passports.
"The perusal of a National Insurance certificate in itself is insufficient to escape a civil penalty," he told the BBC.
If the documents checked were not those required, it was "inevitable" she would face a civil penalty, he said, but it was extremely unlikely she would face a criminal prosecution.
"To be prosecuted criminally for employing somebody illegally, you have to knowingly do so. And I would have thought it's incomprehensible or beyond doubt that a government minister would knowingly employ an illegal migrant."
'Grey areas''Grey areas'
"The perusal of a National Insurance certificate in itself is insufficient to escape a civil penalty," he told the BBC.
If the documents checked were not those required, it was "inevitable" she would face a civil penalty, he said.
Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs select committee, said he believed Baroness Scotland would have "satisfied herself" that all the necessary checks were done.Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs select committee, said he believed Baroness Scotland would have "satisfied herself" that all the necessary checks were done.
Here we have a senior government law officer, in the same position as any other small business, who's got it badly wrong. She should have known better Chris GraylingConservatives
"I am sure she would have done everything that was proper and right," he told BBC Radio 4's World At One."I am sure she would have done everything that was proper and right," he told BBC Radio 4's World At One.
However, he said there were "grey areas" in how the law was interpreted and a single database was needed to give employers access to information about an individual's immigrant status, right to work and ability to claim benefits.However, he said there were "grey areas" in how the law was interpreted and a single database was needed to give employers access to information about an individual's immigrant status, right to work and ability to claim benefits.
The Conservatives said the attorney general had questions to answer about her conduct.The Conservatives said the attorney general had questions to answer about her conduct.
"This is a government that says all small employers should be prosecuted if they don't know the immigration status of their employees and yet we have senior ministers who can't be bothered to make the checks themselves," shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said. "This is yet another big embarrassment for Gordon Brown," shadow home secretary Chris Grayling told the BBC.
Baroness Scotland was appointed attorney general by Gordon Brown when he became prime minister in June 2007. "The government sent strong messages out saying small businesses are responsible for discovering whether people have a right to work here or not and whether they should be employed or not.
She is the government's chief legal adviser and oversees all criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. "Here we have a senior government law officer, in the same position as any other small business, who's got it badly wrong. She should have known better, there should now be a full investigation in the way that would happen for any other small business and due process should follow if she's done it wrong."