UK Probe Finds 6K Illegals in Security Jobs

Home Office takes heat over 11K total given clearance

By Zach Samalin, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 13, 2007 2:07 PM CST

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UK Probe Finds 6K Illegals in Security Jobs — Home Secretary Jacqui Smith meets police officers during her visit to the Aylesbury Estate in south east London Wednesday July 4, 2007. Smith paid tribute to the "splendid efforts over the last few days" by police, security services and the public as investigators worked Wednesday to trace the ties... (Associated Press)

UK Home Secretary Jacqui Smith came under fire today after an investigation revealed that as many as 11,000 illegal immigrants are employed in or have been cleared for security jobs, including one man who guarded the PM's car. Of those workers, 6,653 were found to have no permission to work in the UK, while another 4,447 had yet to prove their immigration status.

The figures more than double last month's report that 5,000 illegal immigrants are employed in such positions, which include airport and port security jobs, as well as subcontracted police guard units. Critics lashed out at Smith over the "huge policy failure," the BBC reports. "This latest belated revelation of 'Keystone Cops' incompetence truly takes the breath away," one said. (More Jacqui Smith stories.)

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