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UK Border Agency

First, may I congratulate the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) on securing this important debate and on raising, at the core of her remarks, constituency matters with her usual diligence? I am grateful that she appreciates the need both to have clear rules and to enforce them, and also for her understanding of the problems that sometimes occur when they are applied to an individual. For Members of Parliament, that becomes more obvious when constituency cases are involved. The right hon. Lady raised three cases. As she may know, we do not comment on individual cases, but let me give her two commitments. First, my hon. Friend the Minister for Borders and Immigration, who unfortunately cannot be present, will write to her separately about the specifics of the cases she has raised. Secondly, I will do my best to respond to her general concerns, which have been echoed by Members on both sides of the Chamber. The UK Border Agency has recently undergone the biggest shake-up in its history and has coped with not only many legislative changes, but massive organisational ones. Its staff are trained to carry out their duties professionally and impartially, whether when considering applications for visas, asylum or further leave to remain, or when enforcing the immigration laws of this country and removing those who have no right to be here. The public would expect no less. Let me also assure the right hon. Lady and other Members that there is no policy of pursuing soft targets, and that decisions must be made in accordance with the immigration rules. Those decisions are subject to appeal, either in the UK or from abroad, and are therefore scrutinised by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. Asylum decisions are also audited by UK Border Agency quality teams and, in the case of some asylum decisions, independently by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Further to this, the appointment of John Vine as chief inspector of the UK Border Agency provides for an independent, external assessment of the agency in both its UK and overseas dealings.