Shabana Mahmood admits Home Office 'not yet fit for purpose' as secret report released

Shabana Mahmood has admitted the Home Office is "not yet fit for purpose" after the release of a damning report. The Home Secretary said the findings are "all too familiar", adding that the department had been "set up for failure".

The report by former Home Office special adviser Nick Timothy, who is now a Tory MP, was kept secret by the department for more than two years. The 26-page dossier, reported by The Times, found that the Home Office is beset by a "culture of defeatism" on immigration and "a sense that high failure rates are an unavoidable fact of life in the system".

It said that senior officials "often know too little about the operational reality to adequately inform and advise ministers".

There is mutual distrust between the Home Office and other departments, according to the report.

And it warned that "too much time is wasted" on identity politics and social issues, and raised concerns over working from home during crises.

The Home Secretary said the findings showed the department had not learned lessons since her predecessor Lord John Reid branded it "not fit for purpose" almost 20 years ago.

Ms Mahmood said: "This report, written under the last government, is damning.

"To those who have encountered the Home Office in recent years, the revelations are all too familiar.

"The Home Office is not yet fit for purpose and has been set up for failure.

"As this report shows, the last Conservative government knew this but failed to do anything about it. Things are now changing.

"I will work with the new permanent secretary to transform the Home Office so that it delivers for this country."

The report was released after a legal battle which has taken more than two years.

The Home Office said: "This report was conducted under a previous government.

"The Home Secretary and permanent secretary are making significant changes to the Home Office to deliver for the UK public to secure our borders, make our streets safer and protect our national security."