Immigration visa scandal whistleblower James Cameron punished by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Telegraph reports that "Visa whistle-blower gets final warning"
"Visa whistle-blower gets final warning
By Anthony France
(Filed: 15/06/2004)
A diplomat who exposed an immigration scandal that led to a minister's resignation was penalised last night for whistle-blowing.
James Cameron, a manager in the visa and consular section of the British embassy in Romania, was given a final warning after a four-hour Foreign Office disciplinary hearing.
He was also told he would not be promoted for three years and would receive no pay rise for a year. He was banned from returning to his post in Bucharest. Mr Cameron exposed abuses which led Beverley Hughes to quit as immigration minister."
"The Foreign Office refused to comment on the penalty imposed on Mr Cameron. But a spokesman said that he would have the right to appeal."
Why are the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Home Office (both departments jointly run the visa and immigration sections of UK consulates and embassies) persecuting this whistleblower ?
It is inconceivable that he does not have a clear Public Interest Disclosure defence as we have noted earlier, given that his revelations prompted the resignation of a Home Office Minister and the temporary suspension of Romanian and Bulgarian visa applications to the UK.
Government Ministers will no doubt claim that they do not get involved in Civil Service disciplinary matters. However they are very willing to intervene in court cases by signing Public Interest Immunity certificates.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Home Secretary David Blunkett should sign a memo to their own Civil Servants to declare the James Cameron's actiions, such as they were, are in the Public Interest and quash the farce of these disciplinary procedures, which will cost the taxpayer a huge amount of money in legal fees and compensation when James Cameron takes his case to an Employment Tribunal.
Comments
The way James Cameron has been treated is a national disgrace. How can we now trust those who were party to this Soviet-style treatment of him and his wife? The British government is harming British interests by removing someone from Bucharest whose experience there is more needed than ever. A fine example of democracy in action.
Posted by: WP Colquhoun | June 18, 2004 11:21 PM
I HOPE THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT HE IS NOT THE ONLY ONE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THIS "GAME".
EVERYBODY AND I MEAN IT, ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY IN THE EMBASSY (INCLUDING YOUR "BELOVED" AMBASSADOR ,QUINTON QUAYLE ,WHO'S "INVOLVED" IN M.G. AND ROVER CAR DEALERSHIP IN BUCHAREST) IS TAKING BRIBE AND ,LET'S SAY LESS, IS DEMANDING OR ACCEPTING SEXUAL FAVOURS.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE UNDER NO ILLUSSION THAT SOMEBODY CAN BE "NAIVE"!!!!
Posted by: Dexter | July 6, 2004 4:26 PM
The joys of free speech and web log publishing!
Either this allegation of corruption at the British Embassy is a news "scoop", or we are going to get attempts to censor us (provided that someone notices)
We will consider and respond to *authenticated* requests from those parties concerned.
If "Dexter" has any evidence of corruption in the British Embassy in Bucharest, he or she is welcome to post it here, or to email us in private - we do have contacts with various people who can investigate these allegations, if that is the intention of the posting.
Feel free to email us using our PGP encryption keys (c.f. the main page) or through "anonymous" remailers if you want.
Posted by: wtwu | July 6, 2004 7:10 PM
If Dexter would like to email me I would be very pleased to hear more details of these allegations. I am a Briton that lives and works in Bucharest. Perhaps we could even meet.
Posted by: Realist | July 18, 2004 9:16 AM
...personal observations would indicate that this sort of corruption also takes place in other countries, such as china. in beijing, one can be 'guarenteed' a visa (in exchange for a large fee), whist local (chinese) staff have been observed leaving the embassy on bicycles, then driving around in expensive cars - that one would expect to be well beyond their means. my source also indicates that the corruption & bribery is not limited to chinese staff, but also happens amongst british staff. whilst the majority of staff are doing a good job in processing visa applications in a just way, it is a shame that a small minority of bad apples amongst the staff are being allowed to continue to carry out these bad practises for their own unlawful personal gain. within every large organisation, the law of averages says there will be good & bad staff. i feel that the responsible authorities need to wake up more to this fact, and take the necessary measures to control it.
Posted by: no spam please | July 7, 2006 4:52 PM
...personal observations would indicate that this sort of corruption also takes place in other countries, such as china. in beijing, one can be 'guarenteed' a visa (in exchange for a large fee), whist local (chinese) staff have been observed leaving the embassy on bicycles, then driving around in expensive cars - that one would expect to be well beyond their means. my source also indicates that the corruption & bribery is not limited to chinese staff, but also happens amongst british staff. whilst the majority of staff are doing a good job in processing visa applications in a just way, it is a shame that a small minority of bad apples amongst the staff are being allowed to continue to carry out these bad practises for their own unlawful personal gain. within every large organisation, the law of averages says there will be good & bad staff. i feel that the responsible authorities need to wake up more to this fact, and take the necessary measures to control it.
Posted by: no spam please | July 7, 2006 4:53 PM