Jacqui Smith under fire over memos

Last Modified: 13 Nov 2007
By: Channel 4 News

Is Jacqui Smith about to become the latest Home Secretary forced to resign? She's accused of covering up bad news for fear of what the media would do with it.

Jacqui Smith arrived for cabinet this morning accused of trying to spin her way out of the latest Home Office controversy.

She is to address the commons this afternoon following memos published in the Daily Mail which - it claims - show she and the Home Office knew back in July that applications from illegal migrants to work as security guards had been cleared - but decided to keep it quiet.

"She agrees with you that this is not ready for public announcement yet.""
Leaked memo

The first memo from Jacqui Smith's private secretary to several minister and officials on 9 August 2007 says of the discovery of the problem:

"The home secretary has seen your submissions of today's date... and of 12th July. She agrees with you that this is not ready for public announcement yet."

An official wrote to the home secretary on the 20th August:

"...Press Office continues to recommend strongly that no public announcement is made... No media are aware that there are any concerns about the security industry employing illegal migrant workers."

And ten days later the same official writes:

"The Press Office advise that should the media discover that a Home Office Non-Departmental Public Body has issued thousands of licences to illegal workers and that some of those workers have been employed in high-profile security jobs there will be significant criticism of the Home Office and our processes."

Home Office statement

"The responsible thing to do was to establish the full nature and scale of the issue rather than put partial and potentially misleading information into the public domain. The Government expects this will not be known until the current operation is concluded in December."

An estimated 5,000 security licences have been issued to illegal workers - some working in sensitive security posts including the Metropolitan Police.

The government says it didn't want to didn't reveal the problem until it had determined the extent of it.

"The responsible thing to do was to establish the full nature and scale of the issue rather than put partial and potentially misleading information into the public domain. The Government expects this will not be known until the current operation is concluded in December." - Home Office statement

The body which regulates the security industry has now changed its procedures. But the government's handling of the issue is now overshadowing the original problem.