Home Office sought 'lenient treatment' for Hindujas

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, MARCH 3. In yet another twist to the continuing Hindujas' passport saga, it has now emerged that the Home Office did probably tread softly while handling Mr. Srichand Hinduja's passport application in 1998, after the then Dome Minister, Mr. Peter Mandelson's helpful inquiries on his behalf following a million pound donation by the brothers to the Millennium Dome.

An e-mail from the Home Office Minister, Immigration, to immigration officials in Liverpool handling the application suggested that giving British citizenship to Mr. Hinduja would ``benefit'' Britain. According to The Times, it ``seemed to hint that Mr. Hinduja should be treated leniently if he failed to fulfil the residency requirements for naturalisation''.

His first application in 1990 was rejected because he had not spent sufficient time in Britain. The e-mail is reported to have emanated from the office of the Home Office Minister, Mr. Mike O'Brien, who claims that Mr. Mandelson spoke to him on the phone about Mr. Hinduja's application. Mr. Mandelson, who has since been forced out of office, does not, however, have a clear recollection of that controversial telephone call. The new twist comes amid reports that Sir Anthony Hammond who is inquiring into the affair has cleared the Home Office of any wrong-doing.

But guess why the Hinduja brothers - GP and SP - were so keen on British citizenship?

Because they simply hated queuing up in the non- British citizens' line at Heathrow, according to a London newspaper. This is what the family is reported to have told The Independent, denying that their desire to be Her Majesty's subjects had anything to do with their alleged bid to avoid extradition to India in connection with the Bofors inquiry.

In a special report on the Hindujas' passports affair on Friday, the newspaper said: ``The family maintain the reasons GP an SP desired passports so badly is that, having been based here for decades, they saw Britain as their home - they hated having to queue in the non-British line at Heathrow and there was the added hassle that, as Indian passport holders, virtually every country they visited demanded visas.''

The report, spread over three full pages, covers familiar ground, but has some interesting quotes relating to the Hindujas' style of operation as they set about cultivating the Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, and his men. It seems there is a Hindujas' equivalent of the Richter scale which registers the level of their links with politicians, depending on how they perceive their importance.

``To Tony Blair they were sycophantic and fawning, to Peter Mandelson, they were friendlier, to (Keith) Vaz they were superior. He was their lackey. Vaz furnished introductions for the brothers, he assisted them as much as he could, he was a regular visitor to their corporate offices'', a former Hinduja aide is quoted as saying.

They saw Mr. Mandelson as a ``gatekeeper'' to Mr. Blair and did their best to humour him, inviting him to private lunches and receptions they are said to be fond of hosting in and out of season.

And what did Mr. Mandelson think of them? According to his ``friends'', he found them ``graceless'', ``pushy'' and ``embarrassing''. Compared with other wealthy people, Mr. Mandelson knew the Hindujas were not high on his popularity chart. ``Peter likes the Rothschilds, not the Hindujas'', a close friend of Mr. Mandelson told The Independent, adding that the brothers lacked ``metropolitan wit'' and ``sophistication''.

``They could be graceless in the way they sought him out at parties, almost pushing others aside to reach him. They could be so direct and upfront as to be embarrassing. But he tolerated them'', says Chris Blackhurst, the writer of The Independent report. And why he ``tolerated them'' was partly because the Government desperately wanted their one million pound for the cash-strapped Millennium Dome, and partly because they ``knew powerful people everywhere'' and had business connections in India which promised prospects for British business.

``They were involved in power contracts in India which British firms were pitching for.'' So, it was a mutual trade-off - help us with the Dome and those power contracts and there would be no need to queue up in the non-British citizens' line at Heathrow any more.

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