David Hanson, shadow Immigration Minister, responding to Mark Harper’s resignation, said:

“I understand and respect the decision Mark Harper has taken today. As immigration minister he has argued in Parliament for landlords to be required to carry out checks on every tenant, and he is responsible for the helpline for employers to ring up to double check the immigration status of their employees. 

"We have called for the landlord scheme to be piloted, and the employer helpline to be better resourced exactly because this can be complex for employers and landlords. So this information about Mark Harper’s employee does put him in a difficult position.

"He has however shown himself to be a decent man in his resignation  and I wish him well for the future but perhaps once again the government need to think very carefully about how they approach this issue as it is clear there are limits to the effectiveness of relying on employer and landlord checks to address illegal immigration.”