Battersea Phase 3a (Image: Gehry Partners/Foster + Partners)
Immigration officials for the Home Office have raided Sir Robert McAlpine’s Battersea Phase 3 project in London.
The officials, who were searching for individuals working illegally, detained an unspecified number of people.
Sir Robert McAlpine confirmed that Home Office officials and police attended the site last week.
In a statement, it said: “Sir Robert McAlpine has and will continue to work in full cooperation on this case which involved a small number of individuals suspected of working in the UK illegally.
“Preventing the employment of illegal workers and ensuring ethical recruitment is of critical importance to the construction industry and Sir Robert McAlpine is resolute in its commitment in this regard.”
Chief executive Paul Hamer added: “We have worked very hard to ensure all that we do as a business is in line with our values and of the highest ethical standards. Incidents such as today [Friday 9 August] are a stark reminder that the industry still has much work to do. We take a zero-tolerance approach to such breaches and will be working with our supply chain to support further improvements. Construction activity at the Battersea site continued this morning.”
The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
