Home Office Fires Watchdog After Revealing Concerns Over Border Security and Immigration

David Neal, former independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, taken on July 21, 2022. PA Media

The Home Office has fired its independent chief inspector of borders and immigration for breaching the terms of his employment after he revealed his concerns regarding border security to the press.

The government announced on Tuesday that it had terminated its contract with David Neal. Mr. Neal had given interviews in the past week detailing findings from his unpublished reports submitted to the Home Office. Mr. Neal had detailed the abuse of visa rules by care workers, the government’s asylum housing strategy, and the alleged failure to check “high-risk” jet arrivals at one UK airport.

A spokesperson from Home Office said: “We have terminated the appointment of David Neal, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, after he breached the terms of appointment and lost the confidence of the home secretary.

“The planned recruitment process for the next independent chief inspector of borders and immigration is in progress.”

Mr. Neal, a consultancy director with a military background appointed to the role by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel in March 2021, was due to end his tenure on Mar. 21, 2024.

During his time in post, the former borders and immigration watchdog had repeatedly raised concerns that the Home Office was too slow in publishing his reports. He had also questioned why his contract had not been renewed for a second term, which had been the custom with his predecessors.

Former Watchdog Claimed Reports Went Unpublished

Before being sacked, Mr. Neal had held interviews with three newspapers where he revealed content from the unpublished reports he had sent to the Home Office. The former immigration and borders watchdog had said he decided to share the information because of the “massive public interest” in the material.

On Friday in an interview with the Financial Times, Mr. Neal had claimed that the Home Office had “no asylum accommodation strategy” and said that the current size of the UK’s asylum estate was not large enough to house anticipated demand. The claims prompted the department to respond that it had a “clear strategy to provide sufficient accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.”

Then, speaking to The Times of London on Sunday, Mr. Neal alleged that thousands of foreign workers were abusing the visa system by coming to the UK under the guise of having employment in the social care sector while working illegally in other industries.

In an article published in the Daily Mail on Monday, Mr. Neal claimed that in 2023, UK Border Force had failed to conduct passport checks for passengers on hundreds of private jets arriving at London City airport whose flights had been classified as “high-risk.”

Home Office ‘Categorically Rejects’ Claims ’High-Risk' Arrivals Went Unchecked

The claims made in the Daily Mail article prompted Tom Pursglove, the minister for legal migration and the border, to state on Tuesday in the Commons chamber that the Home Office “categorically rejects the claims” made by Mr. Neal.

Addressing the allegations is greater detail, the minister continued, “Border Force performs checks on 100 percent of scheduled passengers arriving in the UK and risk-based intelligence-led checks on general aviation.”

“Mr. Neal’s report on general aviation border checks at London City airport was submitted last week and underwent fact-checking, as is standard practice. Mr. Neal was made aware of a specific issue with the recording of data at London City airport that meant that a large proportion of flights recorded as high risk should have been reclassified as low risk,” Mr. Pursglove said.

“It is deeply disturbing that information that has no basis in fact was leaked by the independent chief inspector to a national newspaper before the Home Office had the chance to respond,” Mr. Pursglove added.

Government Promises to Publish Delayed Reports

On Wednesday, Mr. Cleverly promised that the government would publish the delayed reports prepared by the former borders and immigration watchdog, but did not set a deadline.

In a written statement to Parliament the home secretary said his department was “committed to publishing the reports” and would “provide responses in due course.”

The 15 reports date back to April 2023.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called on Mr. Cleverly to publish the reports in full “now.”

Ms. Cooper claimed that successive Conservative home secretaries have “sought to bury uncomfortable truths revealed by the chief inspector about our broken borders.”

“The Conservatives have lost control of our borders, are seeking to hide the truth, and are putting border security at risk,” she added.

On finding a replacement for Mr. Neal, the home secretary said the recruitment process was “in progress,” and a new chief inspector of borders and immigration would be appointed after a “robust competition.”

PA Media contributed to this report.