Liz Hurley and the Indian servant problem

Violet D'Souza claimed she worked 70 hours a week for Liz Hurley and her loaded husband Arun Nayar and was paid as little as £1.20 per hour for housekeeping and other chores. D'Souza is one of many servants brought in by the dizzyingly successful Indian upper and middle classes with homes across London who simply can't manage without imported flunkeys. Some are non-dom magnates or celebs, others are professionals - doctors, accountants, IT whizzes and entrepreneurs.

Sacked after four years, D'Souza took her case to an industrial tribunal, then withdrew the claims, apparently after an out-of-court settlement.

What a pity. Her case, if substantiated, would have opened a window on to that hidden exploitation too long ignored by the authorities here. We do get shocking revelations of "slave" labour in the households of Arabs but hardly any attention is paid to the growing number of trans-national Indians who import domestics, many of whom are paid in rupees (to make them even cheaper) and treated as chattels.

Soni, for example, is a heart specialist who saves lives but believes her Delhi maid should sit on the floor, eat leftovers and not speak unless it is to the children in her care. She says: "You don't understand, Yasmin, if you give these people a finger they will take your arm and break it. You must keep them tight in their place, always."

Her friend Meena, a businesswoman, agrees and says my objections are "ridiculous and ignorant". They were both flabbergasted when I told them that Anna, our Polish cleaner, is paid £11 an hour and expects to be treated with respect.

These appalling attitudes come from the caste system, still in place so many years after Gandhi tried, without success, to eradicate it. Soni feels no guilt and can even persuade herself that she is "helping" the maid's children back home who would otherwise perish. The beautiful temple in Neasden was built by Indian craftsmen who were also underpaid and exploited, this time by holy men of god, who also felt they were being virtuous.

Once here, workers come to know their rights and break out of their inner prisons of acquiescence. We should be proud that Britain gives them that freedom and entitlement but India is not ashamed enough of its embedded culture of inequality and inhumanity. And I see no reason why those values should be tolerated in deference to India's growing global power.