Migrant worker rule 'unlawful'

New immigration rules are unlawful and should be scrapped, according to MPs and peers.The joint Commons and Lords Human Rights Committee claimed an overhaul of a migrant workers scheme could leave thousands facing the prospect of deportation.Around 50,000 people came to Britain under the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme but the committee said many would no longer qualify for permanent residency and faced the prospect of deportation with their families, despite having made their home here.The scheme was introduced in 2002 to encourage workers with badly needed skills to come to Britain, offering them the prospect of the right to permanent residence in the UK.The committee said the changes amounted to a clear breach of the right to respect for home and family life contained in Article 8 of European Convention of Human Rights."The changes to the rules are so clearly incompatible with Article 8, and so contrary to basic notions of fairness, that the case for immediately revisiting the changes to the rules in Parliament is in our view overwhelming," the report said.Committee chairman Andrew Dismore said that while the Government was entitled to introduce the changes for new entrants, it was "cheating" on the deal offered to those who entered under the original rules."These changes are patently unfair, truly a case of moving the goalposts during the match," he said."What is being proposed is to cheat on the deal through which people have legitimately made their decisions over their life and livelihood here in the UK."The Government is entitled to introduce these changes to protect its economic interests for future migrants, but it is not right to pull out the rug from under those who have already given up lives, homes and jobs elsewhere in the world and settled themselves and their families here based - let's not forget - on the huge contribution they make to our country, economically and socially."© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | August 9, 2007

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