A Labour politician from west London has been fined £40,000 after she lost an appeal against an immigration law breach for hiring an Indian student as a nanny illegally.
Hina Mir, a councillor and a qualified solicitor, hired 22-year-old Himanshi Gongley for £1,200 in cash a month despite the latter having no legal work rights in the UK, according to a court report in the Daily Telegraph.
The 45-year-old former deputy mayor for the borough of Hounslow kept the Indian student on call “24 hours a day for six days a week” to look after her two children, the City of London County Court was told recently.
"Councillor Mir is a person of exemplary character. She is a solicitor, a councillor and is involved in the community," the court report quoted Judge Stephen Hellman as saying.
“But the inconsistencies in the appellant’s (Mir) evidence mean I cannot place much reliance on her evidence as I normally would,” he said.
According to the report, Mir nicknamed the student Ria and claimed she was a “social visitor” frequenting her home to “play video games, to watch TV and to chill” and to perform household chores.
However, the Home Office told the court the student appeared to be distressed when she “flagged down a police car for help” in August last year. She was then found to be in the country illegally since her visa expired in March 2023 and told the authorities that she was “physically abused” and felt “suicidal”.
Arif Rehman, representing the councillor, told the court: “This story was fabricated with an intention to claim immigration advantage and to present herself as a victim of modern-day slavery.
“Nothing was done with the allegations with the evidence of abuse, because there was no evidence. This is not someone who can be trusted by the court.”
However, the judge said he found it "unlikely" the student would have "concocted the quite detailed evidence she gave at short notice after she had been arrested by the police".
After losing her appeal against an immigration ruling in January, Mir will have to pay the fine of £40,000, as well as £3,620 in court costs.
