The court heard that Mir referred to the student by the nickname “Ria” and claimed she was only a “social visitor” who came to the house to “play video games, to watch TV and to chill” as well as help with occasional chores.
A Labour Party politician from west London has been ordered to pay a £40,000 fine after losing her appeal in a case involving the illegal hiring of an Indian student as a nanny. The ruling was delivered by the City of London County Court, which found that Councillor Hina Mir, a qualified solicitor and former deputy mayor of Hounslow, employed 22-year-old Himanshi Gongley despite the student having no legal right to work in the UK.
According to court details reported by The Daily Telegraph, Mir paid the student £1,200 a month in cash. The court was told that the young woman was effectively on call “24 hours a day for six days a week” to care for Mir’s two children.
Judge Stephen Hellman acknowledged Mir’s standing, noting, “Councillor Mir is a person of exemplary character. She is a solicitor, a councillor and is involved in the community.” However, he added that “the inconsistencies in the appellant’s (Mir) evidence mean I cannot place much reliance on her evidence as I normally would.”
STUDENT SAID SHE WAS DISTRESSED AND SOUGHT HELP
The UK Home Office told the court that the student appeared visibly upset when she “flagged down a police car for help” in August last year. Officials later determined that her visa had expired in March 2023, leaving her in the country illegally. She told authorities that she had been “physically abused” and felt “suicidal”.
The court heard that Mir referred to the student by the nickname “Ria” and claimed she was only a “social visitor” who came to the house to “play video games, to watch TV and to chill” as well as help with occasional chores. The Home Office, however, argued that the student’s account suggested a much more demanding role that resembled full-time domestic labour.
Mir’s representative, Arif Rehman, dismissed the student’s account, telling 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.”
Judge Hellman disagreed with the defence’s view, stating that 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”.
Mir had appealed an immigration ruling earlier this year, but the court confirmed that she must now pay the £40,000 fine, along with £3,620 in court costs. The case has triggered political fallout in Hounslow, where members of the Opposition have demanded that Mir step down from her position as councillor.
“This is a serious breach of the law, and residents rightly deserve a lot better,” Conservative councillor Jack Emsley told the newspaper.
With inputs form agencies
