No quotas at ports : LETTERS

From Mr T. Farrage Sir: Your front-page story "Immigration staff paid by quota of rejections" (13 December) alleges that "Immigration officers have been set a quota for refusing foreign nationals entry to Britain". This betrays a misunderstanding of the facts.

There are no such quotas. Everyone seeking leave to enter the UK has a right to expect that their case will be dealt with sensibly and sensitively, on its merits. That is what immigration officers do, in accordance with rules laid down by Parliament.

Performance criteria for staff have been set to help managers properly assess performance. Naturally, this includes an assessment of individual decisions taken by an officer in comparison with those taken at the port as a whole. This is necessary to ensure consistency. but this is just one of over 10 criteria which apply to immigration officers. It is unfortunate that your article did not also mention those that refer to the courtesy, professionalism, fairness and impartiality also expected of immigration officers.

Yours sincerely, TERRY FARRAGE Director (Ports)

Immigration and Nationality Department Croydon 13 December