Government reveals border cops have used NHS data to hunt down THOUSANDS of illegal immigrants

THE Home Office is using NHS data to successfully trace suspected illegal immigrants, it emerged last night.

Thousands of people with no right to be in the UK are being tracked down through a special deal between Britain’s border enforcers and the health service record keepers NHS Digital.

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Last night the Government released a “memorandum of understanding” that sets out how information is shared to help trace those in the country unlawfully.

The Home Office can ask NHS Digital for non confidential data like names, dates of birth and the individual’s last known address.

While the revelation is set to infuriate civil liberties campaigners, new figures show that the deal is getting results.

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From September to November last year, the Home Office made 2,224 requests.

In 1,659 instances details were traced, in 516 there was no trace, while 69 requests were turned down.

Information may be requested for suspects who have absconded from immigration control, escaped from detention, exceeded their time limit to stay in the UK or sought to obtain leave to remain by deception.

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But the memo states “other reasonable and appropriate efforts to locate” the suspects must “have failed”

Last night a Home Office spokeswoman told The Sun: “We share limited information between health agencies and the Home Office to trace immigration offenders and vulnerable people, and prevent those without the right to access benefits and services doing so at the expense of the UK taxpayer.

“Access to this information is strictly controlled, with strong legal safeguards."

They stressed that “no clinical information is shared, and before anything at all is shared there has to be a legal basis to do so.”

And they added: “Immigration officials only contact the NHS when other reasonable attempts to locate people have been unsuccessful.”