A senior Conservative peer has launched a stinging attack on the Government's
immigration policy, saying visa restrictions were creating a "nasty
Britain feeling" among foreign students and businesses.
Lord Howell, a former energy minister and George Oborne's father-in-law, said
businesses are being put off from coming to the UK because of a "tangle
of regulation" while students are close to "despair" at the
restrictions imposed on them." The policies are creating a "blot"
on Britain's reputation, he said.
"This country has got to be open for business, our leaders say that all
the time," he told the BBC.
"Being open for business means we've got to welcome the right people,
including a lot of students and brilliant skilled people who add to our
power in the world and we've got to keep out those obviously who would do
bad things to Britain and damage us."
A House of Lords report has found gifted immigrants are being scared away from
Britain because of heavy-handed immigration and visa policies are harming
the country's standing on the world stage.
The peers called for students to be removed from net migration targets and for
a change in tone from the Government in the way it communicates about
immigration.
The committee also recommended the creation of a new strategic unit at the
heart of Government to deal swiftly with potentially damaging policies or
messages coming out of Whitehall departments.
Lord Howell, who chaired the committee, said: "This requires very careful
handling. We are not getting it right. All our witnesses who came before us
- and we had 24 hearings and a vast amount of written evidence - said the
visa policy and some of the handling of immigration policy was creating
rather a blot, creating a nasty Britain feeling.
"In fact we've got all these fantastic assets which, if we handle them
right and tell the story right, can promote a very positive image for
Britain, increase our trade, enable us to export more, invest more."
The peers called for an increase in the use of soft power - described in its
report as "getting what one wants by influencing other countries to
want the same thing through the forces of attraction, persuasion and
co-option" - to bolster Britain's global influence.
"The UK necessarily has visa and immigration regimes to regulate the
ability of foreign nationals to come to the UK to live, to work, to learn,
or as tourists," the report said.
"However the Government should be wary of introducing policies that,
however inadvertently, undermine the attractiveness of the UK as a place to
do business with' visit; and study, carry out research and learn English in."
It added: "We now urge the Government to improve visa application
processes - including access to visa processing facilities - for other key
growth areas such as India and other Commonwealth nations, and to keep a
close eye on competitors' visa policies."
"We feel that there is a real risk that anti-immigration rhetoric will
lead immigrant communities in the UK to feel less welcome and less a part of
the UK, with injurious consequences for the unity of the nation. This can
only undermine the message of friendliness and diversity that the UK hopes
to project."
Lord Howell previously provoked suprise after suggesting fracking for shale
gas should take place in the North East of England because it has "large,
uninhabitated and desolate areas".