U.K. IMMIGRANTS Govt assurance on deportation issue

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33251, 14 June 1973, Page 17

U.K. IMMIGRANTS Govt assurance on deportation issue

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright) LONDON, June 12. The British Government has refused to hold out any hope of a general amnesty for illegal immigrants threatened with deportation under a controversial legal ruling, but the Home Secretary (Mr Robert Carr) has given a promise in the House of Commons that each case which comes to light will be treated on its merits, and that compassionate grounds will be considered.

“At the same time, I must make it clear that where someone is found to be in this country illegally, it must be normal practice to send him away,” Mr Carr said. “To do otherwise would be unfair to those who have already entered legally, or are waiting to do so.” The Minister told questioners: “It would not be right to grant any general amnesty when we are threatened by evasion of immigration controls on an increasingly serious scale.” He promised that any information about the blackmail of illegal immigrants would be pursued vigorously. The legal confirmation of

Parliament’s power to backdate legislation in this sensitive field has given rise to fears of a possible witch-hunt, but these are strongly discounted in official circles. Illegal immigrants in Britain are estimated to total any number from 1500 to 10,000. In spite of Government assurances that its main concern is to stop further illegal immigration, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and the National Council for Civil Liberties have announced that they will take cases to the European Human Rights Commission. They maintain that the effects of the ruling run counter to the terms of the European convention about no-one being subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.