Immigration Officers (Instructions) (Hansard, 22 February 1979)

§ 13. Mr. Cryer
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the instructions given to immigration officers.

§ Mr. John
The instructions to the immigration service provide the detailed information and guidance as to the procedure to be followed by immigration officers in the exercise of their duties in accordance wih the Immigration Act 1971 and the immigration rules.

§ Mr. Cryer
Will my hon. Friend accept that there are two major items of concern? First, when my hon. Friend the Member for York (Mr. Lyon) was a Minister he gave instructions to civil servants to stop the virginity test, yet apparently it has re-emerged. Secondly, wilt my hon. Friend accept that I am very concerned that, at the time when I was making representations to his office, an immigration officer gave instructions to the daughter of one of my constituents to report to Heathrow airport? This gives the impression that the immigration officers are behaving in a manner which indicates that they have rather more power than they should have. Does my hon. Friend agree that Ministers control his Department, not civil servants?

§ Mr. John
On the case that my hon. Friend has mentioned, the form sent to his constituent was for an extension of temporary admission. It contained on the top of it a telephone number. In the vast majority of cases, people who are so contacted, telephone Heathrow and therefore have no need to go along—their temporary admission is extended. That was done in response to some of my hon. Friends' representations. I have looked again at the wording of the letter, because obviously temporary admission must be extended and I am now trying to clarify that wording so that there is no confusion, even among a small minority, about what 611 is intended. All that is intended is the extension of temporary admission.

§ Ms. Colquhoun
Will not the Minister accept that there is now an urgent necessity for an inquiry into the appointment and training of immigration officers? Will he further accept that many of us feel that as immigration officers, and not this House, control immigration in this country, the inquiry is urgently needed?

§ Mr. John
In the latter part of her question, my hon. Friend puts a quite impossible doctrine. Twelve million people come to this country annually. At most, a very, very small proportion are refused admittance. Those refusals are under the control of Ministers and are subject to representation by hon. Members. I do not accept that there is a need for such an inquiry, but I shall keep procedures under review to see that they are as flexible and humane as possible.