Migrant shambles may get even worse

A restricted Home Office memo passed to the Daily Mail admits that applicants could have evaded checks by falsely declaring themselves to be EU citizens.

Opposition MPs said this meant at least another 200,000 licences to work in sensitive security jobs should be reviewed.

Scroll down for more...

Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green added: "The more that comes out, the worse the situation looks.

"It's clear the Government has got no real grip on people coming into the country to work in sensitive positions.

"The truth is that ministers have no real idea of the full scale of this problem."

When the scandal first broke, officials suggested the number of illegal immigrants wrongly cleared by the Security Industry Authority, which has licensed security posts since 2003, was around 5,000.

But on Tuesday the Government was forced to concede that checks so far on 40,000 security guards from outside the EU suggested the true figure could be double that.

Now an internal Home Office document admits that some of the 210,000 people issued licences as Britons or EU citizens could also be here illegally.

The memo admits: "It is a possibility that some applicants could falsely declare themselves as EU citizens.

"The extension of right to work checks to all licence applicants is being considered."

Since last month, the authority has introduced 'tighter procedures' on the identity documents it requires.

The news came as Gordon Brown and David Cameron clashed in the Commons over the immigration shambles.

Mr Brown repeatedly refused to say when he first heard about the widespread problem of securitylicences being issued to illegal-immigrants.

One man was even allowed to guard a compound where the Prime Minister's car is taken for maintenance and repair.

The Daily Mail revealed this week that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was made aware of the issue in July.

Internal memos suggested that she agreed the problem was 'not ready for public announcement'.

Officials warned it would attract negative headlines and would be seen as the latest in a string of Home Office 'blunders'.

In the Commons, Mr Cameron demanded to know why a ministerial statement had not been made on the issue as soon as the Government had been informed.

"The reason people weren't told is it would have been politically embarrassing," he said.

"That's what the e-mails say. The Home Secretary was told 'Any announcement about illegal migrant workers wouldn't be presented by the media as a positive story'.

"Hasn't the Government been caught red-handed putting spin in front of public safety?"

Mr Brown said the key issue is what is now being done by the Government to address the problem.

He promised that checks on existing workers in the security industry would be completed by the end of the year.

"We did our duty - not press releases, but action," he said.

But when challenged repeatedly by Mr Cameron to say when he was told, Mr Brown said: "I'm sorry you think everything should go through Number Ten.

"It was the Home Office that was responsible and they took action."

Despite Mr Brown's comments, it seems the heat is still on him.

The Tories were last night increasing the pressure on Downing Street by tabling a series of Parliamentary questions asking when the Premier became aware of the problem.