Written question asked by Baroness Warsi (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Bach (Labour) on Thursday, 11 March 2010.

Government Departments: Illegal Immigrants

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many illegal immigrants have been found to be working for the Ministry of Justice, its predecessors and its agencies in each of the past five years.

Answer: People employed to work in government departments and their agencies, either directly or through a contractor, are required to satisfy requirements on identity, nationality and immigration status prior to the offer of employment. There has been one occasion within the past five years where compliance checks found an illegal immigrant to be working for the Ministry of Justice in 2007. The individual was subject to a criminal prosecution for using false identification documentation and given a prison sentence.

Secondary information