Reid criticises Home Office

Home Secretary John Reid has criticised the Home Office, claiming that the leadership and management systems have been "inadequate" and branding the immigration system as "not fit for purpose."

Mr Reid made his comments to the Home Affairs select committee as he faced questions on immigration control.

Mr Reid, who replaced Charles Clarke as Home Secretary earlier this month, announced plans for a "fundamental overhaul" of the department's Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

He also told the committee that he had had to deal with a "tidal wave of events" since becoming Home Secretary and refused to confirm a suggestion by the cabinet secretary that no civil servants would lose their jobs as a result of the release of over 1,000 foreign prisoners without them being considered for deportation.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Reid announced that 85 serious foreign offenders released from prison without being considered for deportation since 1999 were still at large.

Of the 37 most serious offenders, 27 were in jail, including four murderers, while two were dead.

However, 20 of those had been reconvicted of more serious crimes, including sexual and violence offences.

A second sex-for-visas scandal has also arisen, with one immigration official being suspended over more allegations that asylum was being offered in return for sex at the UK's largest processing centre.

Tony McNulty, the junior minister in charge of immigration has been moved from his post to take charge of the police portfolio. Liam Byrne, who had held the post of police minister has been moved to immigration.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis criticised the decision, accusing Mr Reid of "papering over the gaping cracks in his crisis-hit department." Referring to Mr McNulty, he said: "One has to ask, if he is not good enough to run the Immigration Department, how will he be capable of running the police force."

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Nick Clegg suggested that the Home Office should be broken up. He said: "The Home Office's combination of institutional overstretch, legislative overload and political interference is conspiring to undermine confidence in our criminal justice system.

"When an organisation is overburdened by an unmanageable number of tasks, things go wrong.

"The debate on the breaking up of the Home Office should now begin in earnest."

(KMcA)