Illegal immigrants cleared for work

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Ministers have ordered new checks to be carried out on hundreds of thousands of people vetted by its Security Industry Authority (SIA) over the past three years.

The SIA had not been ensuring that applicants were entitled to work in the UK before granting licences over the past three years, a Home Office spokesman confirmed.

According to the Sunday Mirror, investigators have discovered illegal immigrants working at the Metropolitan Police, in Whitehall, and at ports and airports since the situation came to light in July.

The newspaper claimed that 5,000 illegal immigrants were estimated to have been employed in posts such as security guards and bouncers.

The SIA was set up by the Home Office to regulate the security industry and started issuing licences in 2004. It reports directly to the department, and has so far cleared about 250,000 applicants.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The SIA took immediate action as soon as they became aware that some licence-holders had been employed illegally.

"From July this year, all new applicants have been granted a licence only if they are entitled to seek work in the UK.

"Ministers ordered checks on all existing licence-holders and these will be completed shortly.

"Any individual found to be working illegally will have their licence removed and face removal from the UK."