25 Jul 2003  16:44

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A leading Asian restaurateur has hit out at the "heavy-handed" tactics employed by police and immigration officers after a raid on his Surrey eaterie earlier this month.

Enam Ali, chairman of the Guild of Bangladeshi Restaurateurs and owner of Le Raj in Epsom, has written to the Home Office and complained to his MP, following the raid on 9 July at about 7pm.

No illegal workers were found at the 100-seat restaurant.

Said Ali: "Of course the police and immigration have to do their job. My objection is to the way they appeared at the restaurant, with a lot of uniformed police. They could deal with it in a much better way and have a bit of respect."

He added: "You don't need 18-20 police turning up in front of the restaurant in a heavy-handed way."

Officials took one waiter away to his home to check his passport, but his papers were found to be in order and he was brought back to work.

Ali said that as chairman of the Guild he had received more than 100 calls from members complaining about similar raids. But he declined to say that ethnic restaurants were being targeted unfairly. "I just don't have the comparison," he said.

He believes such high-profile raids could damage restaurants' reputations, drive away trade, and make it even more difficult to attract staff.

Ali suggested that plain-clothes officers were used, and in smaller numbers.

The Home Office has defended its tactics, saying its raids are carried out in as appropriate manner as possible, based on the numbers of people it is looking for and the kind of intelligence it has.