London protest over new immigration rules

LONDON: Thousands gathered in London on Sunday to protest against new rules which they claim makes it more difficult to bring skilled foreign cooks and chefs for curry houses and Chinese eateries.

The protesters said changes in the immigration laws and the implementation of a points-based migration system favouring migrants with top educational degrees worked against ethnic restaurants.

"Successive governments' immigration policies have neglected to fully recognise the needs of skilled labour of Britain's ethnic catering enterprises," said a spokesman for the Ethnic Catering Alliance, which organised the protest.

"The new points-based system will exacerbate this and will, as a result, seriously damage the catering industry and in turn, the economic well-being of our communities and the country."

Organisers claimed that some 19,000 people from the Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, Chinese and Turkish communities participated in the demonstration, but London's Metropolitan Police estimated that the figure was closer to 4,500.

Under the new system, prospective migrants can work in Britain if they score the requisite number of points, which they can earn with a good educational background, the ability to speak English, and previous work experience.