London:The plight of highly skilled Indian migrants figured in the British Parliamentand Prime Minister Tony Blair assured the house that he would ask the HomeSecretary to look into the issue.

Raising the matter during the Prime Minister's Question Hour yesterday, LiberalDemocrat Martin Horwood cited the case of Gary Douglas.

Horwood said Gary sold his home and business in New Zealand to come to the UK under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme(HSMP) scheme which stipulated that he would get visa extension automaticallyif he made UKhis permanent home.

In 2005 skilled Gary, an IT professional, signeda Home Office pledge to make Britainhis permanent home. At that time the Home Office form said it was essential andmust be maintained.

Horwood said Garynow faced deportation under the new immigration law which has been implementedwith retrospective effect affecting the HSMP visa holders.

Blair said he would ask the Home Secretary to look into the case, although heclaimed the facts were likely to be more complicated than they first appeared.

Horwood later said the way highly skilled individuals from India and New Zealand were being treated wasunacceptable. In particular he said implementing the law with retrospectiveeffect was unfair.

He expressed confidence that if the Prime Minister looked at the facts, hewould find no excuse for the Home Office's behaviour in this case and others.