Blair vows to crack down on immigration system abuses

BRITISH Prime Minster Tony Blair vowed last night to rid Britain’s immigration system of abuse after an emergency summit at Downing Street.

Home Secretary David Blunkett announced a series of measures including crackdowns on bogus students and sham marriages.

The prime minister declared: "There is no and should be no tolerance of abuses."

But both also argued that immigration was vital for Britain's economy.

Mr Blunkett said: "We are determined to get a grip on the situation.

"We appeal to people to have trust in the system because we can't have Fortress Britain. We need people to come here and work."

Mr Blair summoned senior Cabinet colleagues and officials to No 10 after a string of revelations about immigration failings.

Beverley Hughes was forced to quit as immigration minister last week after it emerged she had been warned about an east European visa scam.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis called the event a "stunt".

Earlier he predicted a series of "rehashed" announcements that would do nothing to deal with the fundamental failings.

Mr Davis said an independent inquiry was needed to examine whether Mr Blair's pledge to cut asylum claims by 50% had led to checks being waived on other routes.

"Are the failings we have heard about in recent weeks the direct result of a deliberate prime minister's policy to reduce a politically embarrassing statistic or are they the inevitable results of a chaotic Home Office overseen by an increasingly overstretched Home Secretary?" he asked.

Mr Blunkett said the National Audit Office would review asylum statistics to ensure would-be refugees had not simply been forced down other routes.

Task forces will be set up to accelerate changes already being brought in at the Home Office.

New measures on the accreditation of private colleges will be brought in to combat the problem of bogus students.

Officials are also examining the problem of sham marriages, Mr Blunkett said.

However, he stressed the need for migrant workers there were 60,000 vacancies in hospitality and catering in London alone. "We need people to do the jobs that we require but we need them to do so legally and to contribute to our economy," he said.