The GLA today passed a motion in favour of an illegal immigrant amnesty but came up against strong opposition from the British National Party representative Richard Barnbrook.
(Media-Newswire.com) - A plenary session of London Assembly today saw the two Green members put forward a motion concerning an amnesty for the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants currently residing in London.
The move sparked a fierce debate with the BNP’s Richard Barnbrook who argued that this country didn’t have the resources to sustain unlimited levels of population growth and stealth immigration.. In response Labour’s Navin Shah accused Mr Barnbrook of engaging in a “deplorable rant” and group leader John Biggs described his comments as “disgusting”.
The motion was passed after leading Conservative, Richard Barnes, who had also attacked the BNP representative, abstained. The motion was as follows:
( i ) Motion in the name of Darren Johnson AM:
"This Assembly notes the election commitment given by the current Mayor and other leading contenders in support of a one-off, time-limited, earned regularisation of suitable irregular migrants, many of whom live and work in London, which would allow those who have been in the UK for four years or more to be admitted to a two-year pathway to citizenship.
This Assembly now resolves to make representations to the UK Government in support of such a regularisation, and calls on the Mayor to join it in making these representations, including by commissioning supporting evidence regarding the impact on London from GLA Economics."
This story was released on 2008-10-09. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for additional information.