Conservatives accuse Home Secretary of blunder and cover up
In a statement to the House of Commons yesterday, Ms Smith confirmed she was told in July, within weeks of taking up her post, that many non-European nationals may have been granted licences by the Security Industry Authority without checks that they had the right to work in Britain. But she denied a cover-up, saying she did not inform MPs because the scale of the problem was not clear. Even Prime Minister Gordon Brown — whose car was at one point guarded by an illegal worker — was not initially told of the problem, she revealed.
Ms Smith was forced to appear before MPs after the publication yesterday of leaked memos showing she agreed with advice from Home Office officials in August that news of the problem should be kept secret. In the event, it was revealed in press reports last weekend.
