Tories plan migrant health check

Plans for compulsory HIV and TB tests for all migrants were unveiled by the Tories today as Labour hit back over asylum.

Michael Howard said anyone seeking to come to Britain for more than a year should undergo mandatory screening for a range of diseases.

Under plans modelled on similar schemes in Australia and New Zealand, potential migrants from outside the EU would be subject to the tests.

The move came as Home Secretary Charles Clarke shrugged off criticism of his call for more migration and more genuine asylum seekers.

Mr Clarke was heavily criticised by the Conservatives for his remarks pointing out the benefits foreign nationals brought to London and Britain as a whole.

Labour pointed out that Mr Howard himself had said last month that "more genuine refugees would come into the country under our policy than would come now".

But the Tories went on the offensive again today as they claimed that 80 per cent of people diagnosed with heterosexuallyacquired HIV in the UK were thought to have been infected in Africa.

The party's screening plan would mean that anyone who was found to have HIV could be banned from entering on the grounds that they were a health risk and would impose costs on the taxpayer. Those with TB would be automatically excluded entry.

In a separate move, all potential migrants would have to pay for the cost of their own checks and fees for permits and visas would be increased to cover extra costs.

The Tory plans follow a 20 per cent rise in the number of cases of TB in London and other big cities. There were also 7,000 new cases of HIV diagnosed in 2003, the highest ever and a 20 per cent rise in one year. Chronic hepatitis B was also on the increase.

People who wanted to come for six to 12 months from a country with a high incidence of TB would have a chest X-ray and other tests. Those coming for less than six months would not face a test unless they wanted to work in healthcare, childcare or teaching.

Mr Howard said: "The British people deserve the best standards of public health. We need to control who is coming to Britain to ensure that they are not a public health risk."

The HIV plan was attacked by the Terrence Higgins Trust as "prejudice-based policy". "There is no proof that similar measures have worked elsewhere," a spokeswoman said.

Other critics point to studies showing that among 5,000 asylum seekers entering Kent, not a single one had TB.

Labour dismissed the Tory plans as simply "catching up". The Home Office's five-year plan has proposals for migrant health checks, including TB.