Who's Watching the Watchdogs in the UK ? A House of Lords report published 8 February 2024 heighlighted the value of regulatory independence, to allow them to speak truth to the power but also concerns in some departments at Government's ability to interfere in some of their operations. 

It has been repeatedly argued that publicly appointed Independent inspectors  should be given greater powers over those they scrutinise including the protections against dismissal and whistleblowing. 

The UK Immigration and Borders Watchdog acts in the public interest and should be protected against dismissal to remain independent impartial and accountable to the public. The Watchdogs should be directly accountable to the Parliament rather than the Government departments they oversee, in this case the Home office. 

Mr David Neal, the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration was sacked Tuesday 20 Feb 2024 via a Zoom Call by the Home secretary after  voicing concerns and critical border security reports - 15 of these remain unpublished by the Home office since April 2023. Mr Neal said he identified vulnerability points in border aviation security meaning that hundreds of private flights at a London airport landed without undergoing scrutiny and passport checks by the authorities, incredibly dangerous for for country's border security. 

Open Democracy has disclosed that Home office felt the Watchdog was 'excessively critical' in internal correspondence, before being sacked.  

The Times view is that 'the departing borders watchdog deserves praise, not punishment, for doing his job' - being one the first articles to point out the obvious. 

Mr David Neal, coming from a distinguished military career was  appointed by the Home affairs select committee as their preferred candidate to drive improvements and oversee the effectiveness of the immigration, asylum, nationality and customs functions carried out by the Home secretary. It was vital for his role to be able to engage with the Ministers in a timely manner, publish reports independently and timely and 'publicly challenge' the Home office when needed.

But looking at the evidence from the Home Affairs Committee meetings, there were Home office delays in publishing important reports and failures to meet or implement recommendations.

The Wendy Williams review undertaken following the Windrush scandal and concerns about the culture of the Home Office called for greater powers for the ICIBI to publish its own reports independently and to compel the Home secretary to give reasons as to why there are delays in acting on reports or recommendations were not to be implemented - but none of these have happended, leading to feelings of undermined legitimacy and interviews to the press about some of the findings of the reports unpublished by the Home office.

In this context we call for a Home Affairs Committee inquiry and also a Public inquiry into the ministerial involvement in the dismissal of the Immigration watchdog.  

We feel Mr Neal dismissal was unfair and procedurally incorrect and call for his immediate reinstatement as the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration in the UK. 

As an Independent Public appointee responsible for monitoring and improving Home office's functions he was frustrated in his ability to do the job he was appointed to do due to delays and internal communication issues. He should have been granted greater scrutiny powers and should not have been dismissed by the same department he was overseeing for doing his job thoroughly and for 'being too critical' - this is the opposite of what we call 'Independence' and 'Impartiality' in public office. 

Why it is important to have an Inquiry? 

- It  will help understand the effectiveness of UK border security policies, on the basis of which the Home office 'categorically rejected' the Independent Watchdog claims about 'high risk' private jet flights arriving in the UK. No factual evidence held by Home office to counter Mr Neal reports has yet been provided, but an Inquiry will help provide reports, statistical data and outcomes of the security checks. 
- It will help maintain public trust in the integrity and fairness of the border and immigration policies, as well as the integrity of the model of Independent oversight of government functions. 

Mr Neal has also raised concerns over the abuse of care worker visas - finding the Home Office has issued 275 visas to a Care home that did not exist and another 1234 to a company that stated it only had 4 workers when licenced to operate.

Mr Neal was accused by the Home office of breaching the terms of appointment and losing the confidence of the home secretary  after 'leaking' confidential information to the press 'before the Home office had a chance to respond' however there is evidence the Home office knew about the information sitting in the unpublished reports, for a long time since 2023 but has not responded or taken action to address it - leaving no other option than to publish the reports independently or talk to the media. 

The Home office has been previously criticised by his predecessors for delays in publishing reports submitted by ICIBI's and the Home Affairs Committee was aware of this. The current 15 unpublished reports relate to ePassport gate inspections, border Force firearms procedures and Parcel operations, illegal working enforcement, asylum accomodation, immigration enforcement and the processing of migrants arriving in small boats. 

The evidence provided by Mr Neal as witness to the Home affairs Committee inquiry on migration/asylum on 08/06/2022 shows that, 14 months into his appointment he hadn't yet met the Home secretary and he couldn't meet with another Minister to discuss coordination and issues related to the small boats because he was declined a meeting, although the Home office was expected to make reforms in response to previous critical reports on issues including asylum and ensure that critical reports are published swiftly. 

'I've spent all my working life protecting this country, I've identified a security failing and I've brought it back to the Home office. There's strong public interest here and that's why I've done what I've done. The border is there to keep us safe, it's critical there are clear auditable risk decisions made to protect every one of us in the country'. 

'This is not something I've done lightly. But I've been forced into this because my reports aren't being published' - Mr Neal said. 

The UK watchdog role is currently left empty with the press reporting it is unlikley to be filled in the next 6 months, at a critical time while Rwanda scheme is expected to take off and it is also a risk in the context of the border security vulnerabilities outlined above - which remain unaddressed.   

In the public interest, we feel the Government should provide a public explanation about the Ministerial decision to dismiss Mr Neal at such a critical time, and about the decision to block his reappointment. 

Mr Neal served with integrity, responsibility, courage and in the public interest. 
A former Royal Military Police officer since 1994, he served in operations around the world before being appointed by HM the Queen as the Commander of 1 Military Police Brigade in 2016. He received the Freedom of City of Salisbury on behalf of Royal Military Police in 2018. He was appointed as the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration on 22 March 2021. 

Please sign this Petition to help keep our borders safe while upholding the Border Force values - commitment, discipline, respect and moral courage. 

Thank you for your support. 

 

https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/3c143c0e-a717-46a0-a8fd-bb29711f38a9​

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-times-view-on-david-neals-sacking-shooting-the-messenger-h267p560j