Many women living in London, whose migration status is irregular, can find themselves in very vulnerable situations – unable to access essential healthcare or scared to report violence or exploitation because they fear their migration status will be more important than their rights as an individual.

Ms Lambert said: “Most women arrive here with the right papers but can lose their residency status through a change in personal circumstances, and then find themselves – sometimes their children as well – in a legal limbo.

“Others will have been trafficked here and have no idea of the rights they do have.

“The European Parliament’s view is very clear: we must not forget the dignity of the individual. Victims of domestic abuse or other crime must feel able to contact the police; victims of exploitation at work must be able to take action.”

She added: “We must improve the delicate balance between controlling our borders and upholding the basic human rights of those, often vulnerable women and their children, who reside here.”

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Mr Harper resigned after it emerged that he had been employing an undocumented migrant as a cleaner for the last six years.

Yet the Immigration Bill due to receive its second reading in the House of Lords today would require all landlords, bank clerks – and even GPs – to check the immigration credentials of everyone they engage professionally with.

Ms Lambert, speaking at an event organised by Walthamstow Migrants’ Action Group this weekend, said:

“The Government’s proposed Immigration Bill is a disgrace: it will require all of us to be unpaid immigration officers.

“Mr Harper himself has learnt the hard way how impossible this task can be, and it should be scrapped.

“It’s a horrible bill which runs the risk of creating ‘stateless’ persons, and could see some migrants automatically deported for committing fairly trivial criminal offences.

“It isn’t in the best interests of the settled UK community, migrants – or the concept of international human rights. Indeed I would question whether it’s in anyone’s interests, except perhaps the Tories in their bid to appear even tougher on immigration than other parties.

“The best thing the House of Lords could do today is to ‘kill the bill’, and I hope it does exactly that.”

Ms Lambert, who is also the Green Party’s spokesperson on immigration, added: “I can appreciate that in the face of this Government’s austerity measures many people are feeling the pinch – especially when it comes to accessing health and housing services.

“But the answer isn’t to introduce draconian new measures to scapegoat migrants but to invest in our NHS and housebuilding.”

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