The Home Office has come under fire over delays in publishing a watchdog’s report into migrant crossings as the number to reach the UK so far this year hit 15,000.
The Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration David Neal said he was “increasingly frustrated” that the department had been sitting on his findings for months as he suggested concerns from officials about the “tone” of some of his remarks could be partly behind this.
The Home Office later said the report would be published this week.
Since the start of 2022, 15,107 people have reached the UK after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats such as dinghies, according to provisional Government figures.
The milestone – almost double the number recorded this time last year (7,735) – was reached as it emerged the Foreign Office had advised against the Government sending migrants to Rwanda over human rights concerns.
A graphic shows the cumulative successful arrivals in the UK by people crossing the English Channel in small boats
PA Graphics
Mr Neal, who was appointed by Home Secretary Priti Patel to the role in March last year, is the latest immigration watchdog to raise long-standing concerns over her department’s delays in publishing reports, and argued there was a “strong public interest” in the findings.
The report, now expected to be made public on Thursday, scrutinises how migrants are initially processed once they arrive on the Kent coast.
The document was submitted to Ms Patel in February and should have been published by the end of April, Mr Neal said, adding: “I have spoken with senior officials at the Home Office, and I do not think that there is any disagreement with the content of the report or the recommendations. I understand they have some concern about the tone of my foreword, and I suspect this is part of the reason for the delay.”
The recommendations made are “timebound” and “failure to publish within the period suggested begins to devalue the purpose of independent oversight, and continued failure to publish such an important report infringes on my independence”, he warned.
The Home Office have said the report will be put out this week.
Gareth Fuller
The watchdog previously told MPs the Home Office was operating under “constant crisis mode” and described the department’s leadership as a “big issue”.
Migrant crossings continued on Monday for the 11th day in a row, with 330 people including babies braving the heatwave in seven boats, Ministry of Defence (MoD) figures show.
More than 2,000 people arrived in the UK between July 8 and July 18, the longest consecutive run of crossings to date this year.
The highest daily total so far in 2022 was recorded on April 13 when 651 people made the crossing in 18 boats.
The following day Ms Patel signed what she described as a “world-first” agreement to send migrants deemed to have arrived in the UK “illegally” to Rwanda. Since then 9,839 migrants have crossed the Channel.
651 people made the crossing in 18 boats on April 13, the highest daily total of 2022 so far.
Gareth Fuller
The High Court was told on Tuesday documents revealed the east African nation had initially been excluded from the shortlist of potential countries for the policy on “human rights grounds” and memos detailed how Foreign Office officials had advised Downing Street against engagement with Rwanda, among other countries.
Another official memo, dated shortly before the UK-Rwanda deal was announced, warned “fraud risk is very high” and that there is “limited evidence about whether these proposals will be a sufficient deterrent for those seeking to enter the UK illegally”.
Several asylum seekers, the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) and charities Care4Calais, Detention Action and Asylum Aid are challenging the legality of the Home Office policy, with another court hearing due in September.
The Liberal Democrats said it was “shameful” Foreign Office advice was ignored and called for the next Prime Minister to “commit to scrapping this heinous policy on day one”.
Meanwhile, the Home Office said it had deported 14 foreign criminals to Poland.