LONDON (Reuters):

More than 6,600 security industry employees in Britain do not have the right to work here, Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, said yesterday.

Smith told parliament she had ordered checks by the Security Industry Authority and the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) on the status of 39,885 workers from Europe who received security licences.

As a result, she said: "BIA believes that 6,653 do not have the right to work in this country. In 4,447 other cases, the BIA is not satisfied that the individual has proved the right to work."