Labour councillor fined £40,000 for employing illegal Indian student immigrant and paying cash-in-hand

LONDON Dec 08: A Labour councillor from west London has lost an appeal against a £40,000 fine after a court confirmed she had illegally hired an Indian student as a nanny and paid her cash in hand.

Hina Mir, 45, a solicitor and member of Hounslow Council, was found to have paid 22-year-old Himanshi Gongley £1,200 per month to look after her two children, despite the student having no legal right to work—or remain—in the UK after her visa expired, The Telegraph newspaper reported

The situation came to light last August when Ms Gongley stopped a passing police car and alleged she had been abused while working in Mir’s home. Officers later discovered she had overstayed her student visa, which had expired in March 2023.

Mir, who previously served as Hounslow’s deputy mayor, was issued a £40,000 civil penalty for breaching immigration law. Her attempt to overturn the fine at the City of London County Court was dismissed in January, with Judge Stephen Hellman noting significant “inconsistencies” in her evidence.

According to the court, Mir insisted the young woman was simply a “social visitor” who would drop in to “play video games, watch TV and chill,” occasionally helping with chores. The judge rejected this account, concluding that Ms Gongley’s detailed testimony was more credible.

Immigration officer Adam Goodchild told the court that the student immediately admitted she was in the UK illegally and understood her visa had expired. She reported being paid in cash, with £400 going back to Mir for rent.

Goodchild also said Ms Gongley described feeling “physically abused” and “suicidal” under the conditions she faced, claiming she had been effectively on call “24 hours a day for six days a week.”

Mir’s representative argued that the student fabricated her account to gain an immigration advantage, insisting there was no evidence of abuse. The judge, however, said his “gut instinct” was that the student was truthful.

With the appeal dismissed, Mir must pay the full £40,000 fine along with £3,620 in court costs.

The case has sparked political pressure in Hounslow. Conservative councillors are calling for Mir’s removal, arguing that her positions—including chair of the housing scrutiny panel—are now untenable. They criticised Labour for continuing to support her as a candidate in next year’s local elections.

The report said that the City of London County Court heard that Mir kept the student “on call 24 hours a day for six days a week” to look after her two children.

A separate report in The Sun quoted Judge Stephen Hellman as saying that Mir’s evidence had “inconsistencies”. He added, “the inconsistencies in the appellant’s evidence mean I cannot place much reliance on her evidence as I normally would.”