Border chaos and biomass decision
Posted by Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, at 09:35, Fri 11 November 2011:
The main story of the week in parliament has been Theresa May’s row with senior immigration officials about who authorised a relaxation of entry controls at UK ports and airports over the summer.
She’s been forced to make a statement, answer MPs’ questions in the Chamber and at the Home Affairs Select Committee, respond to a debate on the subject initiated by Labour’s shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on the subject - and we’re still none the wiser after all of that.
Brodie Clark, head of the UK border force, has flatly contradicted Mrs May’s claim that he was acting beyond her orders, and next week, he’s due to appear before the Select Committee to give his side of the story. I think it’s hasty and wrong of the Home Secretary to go round laying the blame on officials before they’ve had a chance to make their case.
And I can certainly vouch for the long queues at airports over the summer – I saw them for myself when I came back from holiday. So, whether it’s Clark or May whose version of what happened is most accurate, it seems pretty clear that staff levels at the UK Border agency are under serious pressure. That means those arriving legitimately in this country face an unacceptably long wait to pass through immigration, and, worryingly, it also raises questions about whether more illegal immigrants can escape detection and enter the UK.
I left parliament early on Thursday to attend the Trafford planning committee meeting that decided unanimously against the application to build a biomass renewable energy plant in Davyhulme. I’ve been contacted by hundreds of constituents about the plans, and I’d hoped to address the meeting to convey their concerns. But, despite Labour Group Leader Cllr Dave Acton arguing that I should given the opportunity to speak on behalf of my constituents, the chair of the committee, Tory Councillor Viv Ward, wouldn’t let me speak. But our Labour councillors (and Tory Councillors present too) made some great contributions, and emphasised the strength of local people’s views.
Remembrance Sunday falls this weekend, and there will be ceremonies of remembrance right across the borough. I’ll be attending the ceremony in Urmston, and will be represented at Partington and Stretford by local Labour councillors. It’s a time to remember all those who’ve given their lives in our armed services, those who’ve suffered injury, and those who are serving now in some of the most dangerous parts of the world. This weekend, my thoughts will be with them and with their families, and my wish will be for peace.
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