Baroness accused on maid passport

Sep 27 2009

The Attorney General's illegal immigrant housekeeper claimed her former employer never saw her passport, it was reported.

Loloahi Tapui said Baroness Scotland had never even asked to see it, according to the Mail on Sunday.

Her account directly contradicted the Attorney General's claims that she had inspected all the necessary documents before employing her.

Ms Tapui, a Tongan national, was employed by the Attorney General despite having no right to work in the UK.

Lady Scotland, the Government's top law officer, was fined £5,000 earlier this week for employing a housekeeper with no right to work in the UK.

Ms Tapui and Serbian-born husband Alexander Zivancevic were arrested by UK Border Agency officers in Chiswick, south west London, on Wednesday. She has apparently admitted being in Britain illegally for five years, since her student visa expired.

Lady Scotland restated her position, saying: "For the record, as I have said previously, I was shown all relevant documents - a P45, National Insurance details, a marriage certificate, a letter from the Home Office, references, and a passport - by Ms Tapui during her job interviews. I have nothing further to add."

But the Tories seized on the latest claims. Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said: "This unedifying row just underlines why Baroness Scotland's position is now completely untenable. But it also raises huge question marks over the way the Home Office and the Prime Minister have handled the case.

"The Home Office rushed through an investigation without listening to all the evidence, and the Prime Minister exonerated Lady Scotland before the housekeeper had even been questioned. This is increasingly looking like an attempted whitewash that has gone badly wrong."