David Neal: Immigration and borders watchdog sacked after critical news stories

david-neal:-immigration-and-borders-watchdog-sacked-after-critical-news-stories
David Neal: Immigration and borders watchdog sacked after critical news stories

David Neal, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, has been sacked by Home Secretary James Cleverly after details of critical reports began appearing in newspapers. The Home Office said that Neal had “breached the terms” of his role. Neal had been quoted in The Daily Mail about security checks on private jets, while sources close to him said he was responsible for details of a report critical of the visa system for care workers appearing in The Times.

The comments made by Neal in the Daily Mail triggered an urgent question in the Commons on Tuesday, with Immigration Minister Tom Pursglove saying the Home Office “categorically” rejected claims that hundreds of high-risk flights landed in the UK without security checks. Pursglove said UK Border Force performed checks on “100% of scheduled passengers arriving in the UK and risk-based intelligence-led checks on general aviation.” Labour branded it “total Tory chaos.”

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “We have terminated the appointment of David Neal, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration (ICBI), after he breached the terms of appointment and lost the confidence of the home secretary. The planned recruitment process for the next ICBI is in progress.” Neal, whose tenure was due to end on 21 March, said it was too soon to comment on the decision when asked by PA news agency.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said this was an example of “total Tory chaos on borders and immigration”. “A series of Conservative home secretaries have sought to bury uncomfortable truths revealed by the chief inspector about our broken borders, and shockingly they are still sitting on 15 unpublished reports – stretching back to April last year,” she said. The government website lists 14 ICIBI inspection reports that are awaiting publication.

The Liberal Democrats’ Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael also called for the reports to be published “without delay”. “This is a desperate move from a Conservative government terrified of proper scrutiny of their record of failure on borders and immigration,” he added. Neal is a former army officer who commanded a brigade of the Royal Military Police. The report about the social care system – details of which appeared in The Times – is understood to reflect Neal’s concern about the Home Office’s oversight of compliance with the immigration rules by social care employers

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