§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people were detained following operation Elgar; how many have subsequently been released; how many are still detained; and how many of those detained were employed by the London borough of Southwark;
(2) if he will make a statement on operation Elgar which took place on 27 April;
(3) how many people have been deported following operation Elgar.
§ Mr. Charles WardleOperation Elgar was a joint operation by the Immigration Service and the Metropolitan police aimed at detecting offenders against the immigration laws.
As a result of visits conducted on 27 April, 59 people were detained. Two more were detained following related visits on 28 April and 1 May. Of these 61, 11 have been removed from the United Kingdom as illegal entrants or under the deportation process, and two remain in detention with a view to removal. The remaining 48 were released and 22 of them are subject to reporting restrictions pending removal from the United Kingdom on further consideration of their cases. A total of 44 people were dealt with as offenders against the immigration laws.
Twenty-four of the people detained and dealt with as immigration offenders were identified as being on the payroll of the London borough of Southwark. It is not known how many were employed by the borough at the time of the operation.
The operation was carefully planned and the guidance in Home Office circular 131/1980 about the conduct of operations of this type was fully observed.