The regulator’s deputy chief executive, Andy Drane, told MPs that revoking each licence can take up to 42 days because every holder has a right to appeal.
It is thought that up to 8,000 illegal immigrants could have been given licences by the regulator, including a man responsible for protecting the prime minister’s car. It is not clear how many of these licence holders are illegally in the UK and how many simply do not have the right to work here.
Home Affairs Committee chair Keith Vaz asked Drane whether the SIA should review its application form which, despite the recent furore, still does not ask the applicant whether they have the legal right to work in the UK.
“Bearing in mind the SIA is responsible for giving out thousands of licences, don’t you think you should look at that form?” he said.
Nationality
But Drane said he was confident that online form “elicits the necessary information” by asking applicants for their nationality. This information is then sent to the Border and Immigration Agency, which checks applications against its records.
Checks of documentation have been made more robust since October, with applicants now required to show several items to confirm their identity, including a passport.
The permanent secretary of the Home Office, Sir David Normington, told MPs he supports a multi-agency approach to checks.
“There must be a balance between checks made by the employer, the SIA and the Home Office,” he said.
Cover-up
Both he and Drane dismissed claims that there had been a cover-up over the scandal.
“We were aware of an emerging problem in April or May,” said Drane, who acted as chief executive of the SIA from January to August.
“I wrote widely to the industry in mid August, setting out this issue and warning employers. I can honestly say there has been no cover-up.”
Sir David agreed, but told MPs he found out later on.
“I think I became aware of a significant problem at the end of June or the beginning of July,” he said.
“I don’t think we thought it was necessary to inform Parliament straight away as we didn’t have all the facts.”
Leaked e-mail
He added that the home secretary wanted to see the full scale of the problem before eventually telling MPs in November. Vaz rejected this, saying a leaked e-mail from a junior official had revealed the decision was taken for “presentational reasons”.
Conservative MP and former police officer David Davies told the Committee he was informed about the problem of illegal immigrants in security by the National Security Inspectorate in 2005.
The SIA is currently reviewing every licence application in a process that was originally expected to take 18 months. However, Drane said the regulator was on target to complete this by the end of 2007.