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Former Immigration Commissioner David Neil called the Home Office “dysfunctional” and said it needed reform.
The sacked border watchdog appeared on the BBC’s Today podcast and said the flaws in the immigration system extend “all the way to the very top” at the Home Office.
“It needs a brush to take over,” Neal said of the department.
Mr Neil was sacked from his role as independent chief inspector of borders and immigration last month after he lost the confidence of Home Secretary James Cleverley over allegations he had breached the terms of his appointment.
His dismissal came after Mr Neil provided information to a newspaper that suggested Border Force officers had failed to check passengers on hundreds of private jets that landed at London City Airport.
The Home Office rejected this claim, saying the data was misleading, adding that it had made Mr Neil aware that the majority of flights classified as high risk should have been reclassified as low risk.
Tom Pursgrove MP, Minister for Legal Immigration, said it was “deeply worrying” that the information was leaked by the Independent Chief Inspectorate before the Home Office acted.
He suggested that the post of immigration inspector has yet to be filled since Mr Neil’s resignation, which could lead to a loss of public trust.
“Therefore, there will be no monitoring of small boats, there will be no monitoring of at-risk adults in custody, which is a controversial area, and there will be no publication of material on Rwanda.” he said.
Commenting on the potential impact on people arriving in the UK, Mr Neil said that until a replacement is found, “no one is going to go out there and lift stones and do the testing to contact the Home Secretary or the Home Secretary”. “It’s deafening,” he pointed out. Minister, I will be absent from that. ”
On the same day, the Home Office published 13 of the reports written by Mr Neil before he was sacked as inspector general, as a result of the damning investigation into the murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Cousins, making it clear that the government is clearing up the wrongdoing. This led to claims that he was about to leave. news.
The former border inspector also spoke about other issues on which he had submitted reports during his work at the Home Office. These include not radioing staff monitoring the border at Heathrow Airport, where staff had colleagues “whistling and waving” to get their attention. It will be done. .
“The public would think that would be horrible,” Neal said.
The former head of the Royal Military Police told the BBC he had “paid a price” for having the “moral courage” to speak out, which he described as “rare in public life”.
He added that he believed his position was “absolutely justified.”