Home Office tried to make children of Gurkhas take DNA tests
SAJID JAVID has apologised after revealing that more than 400 migrants, including the children of Gurkhas and Afghan translators who risked their lives during British war efforts, were illegally told to take DNA tests.
The Home Secretary launched a review after discovering that officials had denied visas or leave to remain in the UK to applicants who failed to provide DNA evidence – even though there was no requirement for them to do so.
The report found that 449 migrants with relatives in the UK were asked for their DNA, with 17 of them being denied entry.
Mr Javid revealed there were 51 cases where the relatives of Gurkhas, Nepalese recruits who served in the British military, were told to provide DNA samples at their own cost.
Four members of the same Gurkha family had their applications denied solely because they did not provide DNA evidence, he said.
Mr Javid also disclosed that Afghan citizens entitled to resettle in the UK were told they had to supply DNA tests, although none were denied entry. He announced a review of processes to ensure they are “fair and humane” and will also examine why officials failed to implement government policy.
He added: “I know the immigration system is operated by many highly committed people but we must make sure the structures and processes they use are fit for the modern world and fit for a new immigration system which we will be bringing in after we leave the European Union.”
He said that the Home Office would reimburse anyone who had experienced financial loss as a result of the problems.
Theresa May’s spokesman said that Mr Javid was “right” to apologise on behalf of the whole Government. He added: “There is nothing to suggest the PM was aware of the use of mandatory DNA testing. It’s right structures and processes are reviewed to ensure they are effective and fair.”
Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, said: “Abuses like this don’t fall from the sky. Officials at the Home Office have been carrying out the government’s hostile environment policy, which is also what led to the Windrush scandal.”
Steve Valdez-symonds, Amnesty UK’S migrant rights programme director, said: “The Home Office has once again been exposed as being a law unto itself. The Home Secretary needs to face up to the fact that problems in his department are systemic, chronic and deep-rooted.”
The Home Secretary has apologised to those who were wrongly told to take DNA tests to prove they belong in the country. Sadly, we are now accustomed to this kind of incompetence from the Home Office. There is nothing wrong with a tough immigration system that upholds the law and guarantees security. In fact, that is what most voters want. But every time there is a bureaucratic error of this nature, it gives the Left an excuse to argue that it is impossible to police Britain’s borders and that trying to will only end in tragedy. This is rubbish: it is perfectly possible to manage migration if only the resources, political will and bureaucratic competence are in place.
Instead, innocent people – as also in the recent Windrush saga – are hounded, while some thoroughly disreputable characters seem able to exploit the system easily.
It is good that Sajid Javid wants to fix this; it is right that the entire immigration system is under review. And the goal of ensuring all are treated equally and fairly under the law is a fine one. But too often the public sector gets it wrong and executives are not properly punished. In some cases, they are merely shuffled to another sinecure. The home affairs select committee was “astounded”, for example, when Dame Lin Homer was given the top job at HMRC after her “catastrophic leadership failure” when she ran UK Border Agency. She has since retired.
A lack of accountability is inexcusable: it suggests an outsized state that thinks it can get away with anything. It is particularly galling when those affected – as in the latest case – include relatives of Gurkhas and those who served as translators in Afghanistan.