Blunkett Resigns as British Home Secretary after Nanny Visa Scandal

Unlike Bernie Kerik, David Blunkett’s political downfall really was about a nanny problem. The British Home Secretary resigned after it became obvious that he had used his position atop the British political system to speed up a visa application for a nanny. Sir Alan Budd, who has been investigating the matter, turned up an e-mail that, in response to requests by Mr. Blunkett, read "no favours, but slightly quicker." Rather than the usual year, it took 19 days to approve the visa. Looks like a favo(u)r from here.

Most charitably Mr. Blunkett is guilty of letting his heart rule his head. He used his position to secure a visa for Leoncia Casalme, permitting the Philippine citizen to stay indefinitely in the UK. She is the nanny for Kimberly Quinn (American-born publisher of the rather conservative Spectator and a married woman), whose two-year-old son may or may not be Mr. Blunkett’s child. Ms. Quinn says he isn’t; he’s in court to get access to the child.

It appears that Mr. Blunkett thought getting the nanny permanent status would help him see the child. Some may ask why he simply couldn’t work out things with Mrs. Quinn, but she isn’t that kind of person. Her first husband, banker Michael Fortier, has said of her, "Even when she is lying in her grave she'll be thinking if there is anybody more interesting she could have lying next to her." The whole thing is appallingly sordid -- a Shakespearean tragedy as written by Jeffrey Lord Archer.

Mr. Blunkett’s resignation was a blow to Prime Minister Tony Blair, who backed him to the hilt. Even after the ax fell, the PM said the former Home Secretary left "integrity intact." Mr. Blair has told bigger lies, but this one is one of the most obvious. If there is a third Blair election win, Mr. Blunkett may return to government (the British approach isn’t as unforgiving as the American) after a year or two. However, his ability to reach both Tories and the working-class core of Labour (New or not) will be missed in this spring’s campaign.

What Mr. Blunkett did may seem like a small thing, a perk of high office. Yet, Mr. Blair’s team suffers from having tried to sell the British public on a war in Iraq based on WMD that could be launched in 45 minutes. If one were in a contest for understatement, a winning line might be “The British government has a credibility gap.”

On a different level, why can’t well-off people like Messrs. Kerik and Blunkett find nannies without immigration troubles? The question almost answers itself. They don’t want to pay what it takes to higher a legal immigrant, or a citizen for that matter. Clearly, they’d have been better off paying a bit more upfront.

© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.

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