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Committee publication · Correspondence · 28 April 2026

Letter to the Home Secretary relating to the Work of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration 03.03.2026

From: Home Affairs Committee

Summary

The Home Affairs Committee writes to the Home Secretary expressing serious concern that three inspection reports from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) submitted in May and October 2025 remain unpublished after nine months, violating the eight-week publication convention. The committee demands urgent publication and urges the Home Secretary to meet the new ICIBI to discuss his work programme and publication concerns.

Key findings

  • Three ICIBI reports (May 2025, two in October 2025) remain unpublished after nine months, exceeding the standard eight-week publication timeline.
  • One report concerns Home Office management of contact with migrants without leave to remain, held for over nine months without publication.
  • The Home Secretary has not yet met the new ICIBI, John Tuckett, despite his submission of a draft inspection plan.
  • Successive ICIBIs have complained about late publication of reports, indicating a persistent pattern of delay by the Home Office.
  • The ICIBI lacks independent publication authority and cannot publish reports without Home Office approval, creating risk of political suppression.

Tone

Critical

Topics

immigration-enforcementgovernment-transparencyborders-and-immigrationparliamentary-oversightpublic-administration

Key actors

Shabana Mahmood, John Tuckett, Dame Karen Bradley, Home Affairs Committee, Home Office, Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

Notable line

“It is not acceptable for the department to delay the publication of independent inspection reports in this way …”

Key Quotes

“It is not acceptable for the department to delay the publication of independent inspection reports in this way …”
— Dame Karen Bradley · Raising concern about unpublished ICIBI reports
“It is highly unusual for an inspectorate not to have the power to publish its own reports, and the Home Office must not take advantage of this arrangement to delay the publication of reports that are submitted by …”
— Dame Karen Bradley · Criticising the structural constraint that allows the Home Office to suppress inspection findings
“Successive ICIBIs have complained about the late publication of reports by the Home Office, and this is something we take extremely seriously.”
— Dame Karen Bradley · Indicating this is a pattern, not an isolated incident
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Source · parliament.uk record ↗