Britain's chief government lawyer was fined and admonished today after an investigation found she had employed an illegal immigrant in contravention of laws she herself helped draft.
Attorney General Patricia Scotland (54) was fined £5,000 for employing the illegal Tongan immigrant as her housekeeper, in breach of a 2007 law that she helped oversee while working in the interior ministry.
The UK Border Agency, which carried out the investigation, issued a statement saying that while Scotland may not have knowingly employed Loloahi Tapui, a former student who long overstayed her visa, the law still needed to be applied.
"The law requires that employers must keep copies of documents proving the right to work in the UK and in this instance the employer failed to meet this requirement," the Border Agency said as it handed down the fine.
Prime minister Gordon Brown dismissed calls from opposition parties for Scotland to be removed from office, saying that the fine was appropriate punishment for the transgression.
"The government takes seriously breaches of this important protection against illegal immigration and as a result Baroness Scotland has apologised unreservedly," he said.
"No further action is necessary."
As the government's chief legal adviser and the overseer of all court litigation, Scotland has a high-profile role that has left her in a sensitive position in relation to the government in the past six months.
She has taken the decision to pursue investigations in two cases involving allegations of torture or complicity in torture involving Britain's secret services and terrorism suspects detained abroad.
In both cases, the government initially denied any agents were involved in the rendition or alleged torture, but has since acknowledged that there is enough evidence for further investigation to be carried out.
Reuters