A Hackney MP has called out the Home Office's treatment of people falsely accused of cheating on English language tests.

People falsely accused of cheating had their visas cancelled with no right of appeal after evidence of organised cheating at two London test centres was uncovered in 2014.

Dame Meg Hillier, MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch, described the government's actions as an "injustice".

She added: “Many have gone to court and proved the government wrong, but at great cost to themselves and the British taxpayer."

In order to apply for a British visa, proof of proficiency in the English language is required for visa applicants.

In 2014, the Home Office reviewed the visa applications of everyone who sat the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) exam.

It worked with the international testing organisation, ETS, to identify cheating students.

Yet the Public Accounts Committee, which Ms Hillier chairs, has alleged flaws in ETS’ data which has resulted in innocent people being wrongly accused of cheating.

Those accused of cheating were only given the chance to appeal from 2017 onwards.

More than 2,500 people were deported and at least 7,200 have been forced to leave the UK.

The Public Accounts Committee plans to challenge Home Office officials over new evidence uncovered in a future hearing.

ETS paid £1.6million to the Home Office in a settlement over its role in the TOEIC scandal.

But the TOEIC scandal has cost the taxpayer £21m, according to Ms Hillier's office.

Ms Hillier added: "The simplest, fairest, and most cost-effective solution for everyone is to allow those accused of cheating to re-sit the test."

However, a Home Office spokesperson stated that courts have "consistently found that the evidence we had at the time was sufficient to take action".

The spokesperson added: "We have fixed the broken student visa system as it operated in 2014 and overhauled English language testing requirements.

“We have also revised guidance to caseworkers to ensure we properly balance a belief that deception was committed against other factors whilst maintaining the position that individuals deploying deception as part of their immigration application should expect it to be refused."