The Romanian who arrived to anti-immigration fever

For a brief moment, Victor Spirescu stood for a host of issues that reflect none too well on Britain.

Victor Spirescu's moment of fame is over, says Polly Toynbee in The Guardian. In Luton airport's arrivals hall on New Year's Day, the Romanian immigrant briefly stood for a "host of issues" that reflect none too well on Britain: "anti-immigration fever, Europhobia, benefit-scrounging hysteria, a living reminder of our high unemployment, low pay, weak labour laws and slum housing epidemic".

The truth is that immigrants are often exploited, paid well below the minimum wage after various deductions such as travel, accommodation and uniforms. Once British people with families could afford to take the jobs, "employers would lose any incentive to recruit cheap workers abroad", Labour says.

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