Pickles defends Harper migrant rules

9 February 2014 Last updated at 11:30

Harper would not have broken new rules - Eric Pickles

Eric Pickles says he is "really sad" to see Mark Harper resign

Mark Harper would not have fallen foul of his own tough new rules on immigration checks, Eric Pickles says.

Mr Harper was forced to quit as immigration minister after it emerged his cleaner did not have permission to work in the UK.

Mr Pickles told the BBC's Andrew Marr show Mr Harper had done the "honourable" thing by resigning.

But he added: "Had he been a member of the public then I don't think he would have done anything wrong."

Mr Harper was piloting legislation through Parliament that will double the fines for employers who fail to undertake the correct right-to-work checks to £20,000.

It will also force private landlords and some NHS workers to check the immigration status of individuals - something critics claim will make the new legislation unworkable.

'Terrifically strong'

Referring to new rules that would impose charges on migrants needing NHS accident and emergency treatment, the National Health Action Party said: "If the immigration minister cannot check his own cleaner is here legally, how does he expect hard-pressed NHS staff to check patients?"

Mark Harper: "It was right for me to resign from my position"

But Mr Pickles insisted that the new rules were "light touch" and would not prove impossible to implement.

He told Andrew Marr: "I was really sad to see Mark go, I think he was a terrifically strong minister and had he been a member of the public then I don't think he would have done anything wrong.

"But he has set himself a very high standard and he failed that standard and, therefore, honourably stood down."

He added: "The new legislation is reasonably light touch. If this had been a member of the public they would have done nothing wrong."

Under the current rules, employers have to check whether passports or other identity documents have not expired, that the photo looks like the employee and the date of birth seems accurate, and that the workers' visa covers their type of employment.

The penalty for not carrying out the checks is £10,000.

'Obvious forgery'

Under the new rules, due to come into force in "early 2014", the penalty for not carrying out checks will double to £20,000 and the checking process will be "simplified", with the number of acceptable identity documents reduced.

In his resignation statement, Mr Harper said he had been "mindful of my legal and financial obligations" when he took on the cleaner and sought verification of the cleaner's immigration status despite having no legal requirement to do so.

Commenting on the new rules for landlords and employees, he said: "We do not require them to be experts or spot anything other than an obvious forgery".

According to press reports, immigration officials investigating the case are looking at the possibility that Mr Harper's cleaner was using forged documents.

In his resignation statement, Mr Harper said: "Although I complied with the law at all times, I consider that as immigration minister, who is taking legislation through Parliament which will toughen up our immigration laws, I should hold myself to a higher standard than expected of others."

Junior Home Office minister James Brokenshire, MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, has been appointed as Mr Harper's replacement as immigration minister.