British and US officials today denied a report that the US was seeking ways of imposing entry restrictions for visiting Britons of Pakistani origin, following a spate of UK bomb plots involving citizens with links to Pakistan.The report in the New York Times, quoted unnamed British officials as saying that the US had put several options on the table, including a cancellation of the existing visa waiver programme, which allows British tourists to visit without a visa, or a requirement that British Pakistanis would have to apply for visas. The US homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, had raised the issue with the British government in recent months, the article said.A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The New York Times story that the UK and US are considering requiring British citizens of Pakistani origin to apply for US visas is incorrect. It does not represent UK government policy nor would it be an acceptable proposal."
The report in the New York Times, quoted unnamed British officials as saying that the US had put several options on the table, including a cancellation of the existing visa waiver programme, which allows British tourists to visit without a visa, or a requirement that British Pakistanis would have to apply for visas.
The US homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, had raised the issue with the British government in recent months, the article said.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The New York Times story that the UK and US are considering requiring British citizens of Pakistani origin to apply for US visas is incorrect. It does not represent UK government policy nor would it be an acceptable proposal."
I wonder if someone at the FO decided to leak this in order to kill it? "Ideas or the lack of them can cause disease." - Kurt Vonnegut
