Ugly truth on Home Office proves Gove did not exaggerate

FRUSTRATED: Former Cabinet minister Michael Gove feels civil servants fall short

- Sam Lister Deputy Editor

FRUSTRATED: Former Cabinet minister Michael Gove feels civil servants fall short

T IS hard to know where to start when it comes to working out which of the damning findings about the state of the Home Office is most depressing, All of it is shocking, but none of it is surprising, because you do not need to be an expert to see the department is a basket case.

It fought for two years to suppress the report, which was written by an MP who was once an adviser working among its ranks. But it eventually relented this week after a legal challenge. The review is a portrait of a department hamstrung by a culture of defeatism, poor management and operational failures. It is little wonder that the small boats crisis is getting worse and deportations are almost impossible.

But the total failure of its leadership to grasp some of Britain’s most pressing problems is less shocking than some of the madness that has taken hold of its staff. During working hours, employees take part in “listening circles” where they discuss their feelings about political issues.

If that woo woo time-wasting wasn’t bad enough, the issues they are emoting about show they are not maintaining civil service impartiality. It is enough to send any taxpayer’s blood pressure through the roof.