Opposition parties call for probe after Hughes quits

The two main Opposition parties have called on the government to open up an independent public inquiry into an alleged immigration "scam" involving Romanian and Bulgarian applicants.

The parties made their call shortly after the resignation of the Immigration Minister Beverley Hughes this morning.

Ms Hughes quit after it was revealed that she had received written warnings from the Foreign Office that the ECAA migration system was being abused more than a year ago. She denied being aware of the issue surrounding unsuitable ECAA applications to both Parliament and the BBC's Newsnight.

As Ms Hughes memory had failed her, prompting her to "unwittingly" mislead Parliament, the minister offered her resignation this morning.

In the wake of the crisis, the Home Office has announced that all application from Romania and Bulgaria will be suspended, and a probe led by senior civil servant Ken Sutton will consider the allegations.

The Tories, who had been demanding a ministerial scalp over the affair, welcomed the move and immediately demanded an independent inquiry into the government's "shambolic" policies.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis warned that while the resignation of Ms Hughes was a recognition that the immigration system was in a "state of shambles", her departure would not solve the crisis.

He said: "More gimmicks from Downing Street, such as the Prime Minister taking 'personal control' of yet another area of policy, won't solve the crisis.

"What is needed now is a proper independent inquiry into the crisis, with open access to all the files to get a clear picture of what has gone wrong, and which will report urgently. It must be established without delay."

The Lib Dems Shadow Home Secretary also called for an inquiry, as Ms Hughes's resignation "does not draw a line under this episode".

Mark Oaten added: "I am writing to the Home Secretary today asking him to agree to an independent inquiry into the workings of the Immigration department.

"The inquiry must be headed by an individual senior enough to look at the role of ministers as well as civil servants, and he or she should be totally unconnected with both the Home and Foreign Offices."

(gmcg)