Gordon Brown is Disingenuous on Terror

I know 'Gordon Brown caught lying again' is hardly a major or surprising headline, but this one was pretty blatant even for a member of New Labour.

On Monday Brown was in Afghanistan to meet British troops and play the big I am. Whilst there, he warned of a 'crucible of terror' emanating from Afghanistan and the Pakistan border regions which needed to be smashed to keep Britain's streets safe. He also acknowledged that the stability of Pakistan had a direct impact on the safety of Britons in the streets of London.

There is a reason why this is so - and is has little to do with a 'crucible of terror' and everything to do with Britain's lax immigration laws and its lack of will even to enforce the ones it has.

This is the bottom line, and it is utterly astounding that anyone could think otherwise. Brown, like all mainstream politicians, is playing a game when it comes to mass immigration. He and his ilk, including the Tories, have indicated time and time again that they are unable or unwilling to listen to the majority of the British people on this most pressing of issues.

Now, after it emerged that eleven Pakistani nationals in this country were being investigated for terrorism charges, Immigration Minister Phil Woolas admitted that student and tourist visas were the Achilles' heel of Britain's immigration policy.

The Pakistani government seem to feel that these raids and the subsequent investigation were a 'slur' on them (God forbid, after they recently handed over an entire province to the tender mercies of the Taliban):

In an interview with the Guardian, Asif Durrani, Pakistan's deputy high commissioner to London, said Britain appeared vindictive against Pakistani nationals and said claims that Islamabad was soft on terror were slurs.

Durrani, a diplomat for 23 years with previous postings in Kabul and the United Nations, said: "Pointing a finger towards Pakistan was shocking for us ... it was uncalled for and shocking."

Well, that's as maybe. But whatever the outcome of the terrorism investigation, those eleven men should not have been in this country - and there are thousands more that should not either. Only one of them was studying at a reputable institution. The Pakistani government are angry and claim 'thousands' of teenagers will now not be able to get into Britain, although I'm sure the stricter controls will only be very brief - the public have a short memory.

My question is, why are 'thousands' of Pakistani students coming here, particularly when the government has admitted that its checks are not up to scratch?

On Sunday, former Apprentice star and British Pakistani Saira Khan told the story of how she had reported her cousin to MI5. He came to Britain on a six month tourist visa to visit her and her husband and see the sights - then he promptly vanished, after meeting a mysterious 'uncle' that Khan claims she was unaware of and had never seen before.

Khan says that there is no system in place to monitor or find those who abscond and then are absorbed into the community after overstaying their visas and vehemently insists she wants to see him found and deported:

It has not only caused a huge family rift, but has also opened my eyes to some of the darker practices among some people in my community.

I am referring, in particular, to the widespread belief that it is entirely acceptable to use travel and study visas to circumvent normal immigration rules.

Fifteen days after he had landed, Kamran packed his bags, with all the nice new clothes I had bought him, and disappeared. In doing so he broke the conditions of his visa, which tied him to staying with Steve and me as his sponsors.

Like many before him – it is impossible to say how many because no official records are kept of those who abscond – he has been absorbed and is being protected by a community that is as colossal as it is impenetrable.

The Government has estimated that there are up to 570,000 illegal immigrants in Britain, but with so many visas being applied for with malicious intent, that figure could run to millions. Not that there is any attempt by the Government to chase it down.

Although there are no official figures for the number of overstayers from Pakistan, or from anywhere else for that matter, there is enough anecdotal evidence to show that it is a growing problem. In 2007, at Portsmouth University alone, 379 students from Pakistan were unaccounted for when their visas expired.

Considering that the number of Pakistani students in Britain has more than doubled since 2001, from fewer than 5,000 then to 10,600 today, the national figure of absconders could run into several thousand.

So that is 379 missing Pakistanis, most of them young men (the demographic most likely to become terrorists or radicalised) missing from ONE university.

Is this not absolutely astounding? How can Gordon Brown send young men to die in far off deserts whilst talking about 'national security' when our borders are this porous, our controls this ineffective?

It absolutely beggars belief. But, as always, there's more; yesterday, Justice Secretary Jack Straw announced that the government had not necessarily ruled out taking Guantanamo Bay detainees once the camp finally closes.

He insisted that Britain must do its bit to aid Obama's decision to free the terror suspects, and confirmed that the UK was open to 'considering any request'.

There are around 240 men who have not yet been placed:

The US is working out what to do with around 240 inmates at the camp so it can be closed by the January deadline set by the new president.

Some may be put on trial in the US, released there or sent overseas.
Several European countries, including Portugal and Lithuania, are reported to have offered to take in ex-prisoners.

So, they haven't even decided which are innocent yet, but some might be sent here (or, indeed to countries which we have no real border controls with, which amounts to the same thing).

So much for being tough on terrorism - it's all just guff, like everything from this dying government. Let's just hope that this monumental incompetence, blindness and stupidity does not lead to a major terrorist attack.

If it doesn't, it will surely be through accident rather than design.