I'm not at all familiar with British common law, so I'm hoping someone can explain this to me. I noticed that specialist from the Scotland Yard carried out the siege. However, the siege was in London. How is that Scotland became involved? By American standards, it would seem they would be out of their jurisdiction. Obviously, they aren't otherwise the siege never would have been conducted. I'm just curious as to how that works.
"Scotland Yard" is the colloquial name for the Metropolitan Police, the police force for the Greater London (except the City) area. The name comes from the fact that the Met's headquarters were originally in a Victorian labyrinth of a building in Great Scotland Yard, just off Whitehall. When the Met moved into it's new HQ in Victoria Street in the 70s, the name was so stuck that they took it with them, and the 70s monstrosity they inhabit is called New Scotland Yard. Angela
Also in the UK 'common law' is used to refer to a large section of UK law which is not codified. These raids are more likely to have been carried using warrants issued under Statute law.
which "colleges??" Has anybody seen an article which lists the names of the fake schools? This looks rather like the UK version of the US H-1B visa stuff in which life experience can be equated to college credit for visa purposes. Naturally, the certification of experience can be done in a thorough, legitimate fashion. But it also provides a niche through which unscrupulous actions are rendered profitable. G
Student Visas Apprently it is illegal to offer advice on visa applications unless an institution is registered with the Office of the Immigration Service Commissioner. Warnborough has been doing it for years, re. http://www.warnborough.co.uk/general/intstuds/uksteps.htm However, http://www.oisc.org.uk/home.stm tells us 15.6.04: "This organisation is not registered with us to provide immigration advice. If you have any evidence which proves contrary to this, or that they have been providing immigration advice, please complete and submit a complaints form and send it into our Complaints Department where they will be happy to process it for you." Sadly, once registered, Warnborough College, University and their associates such as Westminster College and London College of Management and IT, etc. can continue 'importing' as many visa students as they wish to study their worthless courses?? Cheers Ismo
The two colleges visited so far are in a part of London called Tooting (part of the London Borough of Lambeth). The scam is rather simpler than indicated above:- people who needed a visa paid £400, were registered as students and thereby obtained a student visa. I suspect we may be seeing more of these raids as there are at least 2 dozen local colleges of apparently similar form in my local area. It would seem in this case that it was a Police raid. The newspapers often refer to actions by other enforcement agencies as police raids simply because the police have attended to 'help prevent a breach of the peace'.
