London (HELVILUX)- It’s funny how some people travel thousands of miles, build successful careers, enjoy the stability and privilege of life in the West, yet somehow carry along certain behaviours that really should have been left behind at the departure gate. The latest example? A well-established Labour councillor and qualified solicitor in west London, who has now found herself at the centre of a serious immigration and labour-abuse scandal.
Hina Mir, a 45-year-old councillor and former deputy mayor of Hounslow, has been fined £40,000 after losing her appeal against an immigration law breach for illegally hiring an Indian student as a nanny. According to what emerged in court, Mir paid the 22-year-old student, Himanshi Gongley, £1,200 a month in cash and allegedly kept her “on call 24 hours a day for six days a week” to look after her two children.
Mir, described in court as someone of “exemplary character” claimed the student was simply a “Social visitor” who frequented their home to “play video games, watch TV, chill” and occasionally help with chores. But Judge Stephen Hellman made it clear that inconsistencies in Mir’s evidence weakened her credibility.
The case took a dramatic turn when the student flagged down a police car in distress. Authorities later discovered her visa had expired in March 2023, and she reportedly told officials she had been “physically abused” and felt “suicidal.” While Mir’s lawyer argued the allegations were fabricated to gain immigration advantage, the judge found it “unlikely” the young woman invented detailed claims on short notice while under police custody.
With her appeal dismissed, Mir must now pay £40,000, plus £3,620 in court costs. Local Conservative councillors are publicly calling for her resignation, arguing that residents “deserve a lot better” from their elected officials.
Conservative Councillor Jack Emlsey claimed this is more evidence of double standards in Hounslow Labour. He said: “She should’ve been suspended when the ruling was made in January, it is a serious offence and she should have been suspended pending an investigation.
At the end councillor has been suspended by the Labour Party after news outbreak of she employed an illegal worker in her home and criticism from Conservative party and public.
Two weeks ago, Cllr Mir was found to have parked in a disabled bay at the council offices without a blue badge. Click the link to read the article. She has not responded to requests for comment on this but Hounslow Labour previously said it was investigating the matter.
And beyond this individual case lies a deeply uncomfortable truth. Modern-day exploitation in Western countries often occurs not through strangers, but within migrant communities themselves, where people from the same background offer “help” to newcomers, only for that help to evolve into control, manipulation, or forced labour. It’s not about racism or singling out a nationality. It’s about patterns that repeatedly emerge in documented cases. Unfortunately, Authorities in the UK have documented repeated cases of community-to-community exploitation within various migrant groups, including documented instances involving members of the Indian diaspora. Experts note that such patterns are not tied to nationality but to vulnerabilities and power imbalances within tight-knit communities. It’s a reminder that migration may change people’s geography, but it doesn’t always change the power dynamics and behaviours they bring with them, a challenge that communities and institutions must confront openly and honestly.
