David Hanson MP, Labour’s Shadow Immigration Minister, responding to the Home Affairs Select Committee report on the UK Border Agency, said:

“This is a damning report that shows for all the rhetoric Theresa May’s Home Office is failing badly in tackling illegal immigration, backlogs of cases, and can only show progress by sleight of hand.

“This out of touch Government’s response to real challenges has been to use taxpayers’ money on ineffective and offensive gimmicks like the ad vans and ‘go home’ texts. Yet real problems, like the fact that fewer than 1 in 50 reports of illegal immigration result in a person being removed from the country are being left unsolved. And when only 6 in 100 reports result in an investigation and only 1.5 in 100 result in removal, no one can have any confidence that Ministers’ actions match their words.

“The Home Secretary urgently needs to get a grip on the shambolic performance of the Home Office and make sure people are removed when they shouldn’t be here, and sort out the backlogs that are increasing on her watch.”