Leaked email shows the Government seeking to cut the number of immigration officials

Just days after Gordon Brown hardened his public stance on immigration, it has now emerged that the Government is seeking to reduce the number of immigration officials.

A leaked email obtained by the Conservatives show that the UK Borders Agency is seeking voluntary redundancies:

"A Voluntary Early Release Scheme will be launched in late April in selected parts of the UK Border Agency... We know that some staff would welcome the opportunity to apply for early release on a voluntary basis and to make choices about their future in an informed and transparent way."


"Workforce projections show that as a result of ongoing reductions in asylum intake and the success in reducing the backlog of asylum cases by the Casework Resolution Directorate, the business will in future no longer need the same numbers of staff in certain locations. Within Border Force, it is imperative that frontline services are maintained, but changes to the way we work mean that there will be an opportunity to make targeted reductions across the grade range in Border Force without reducing frontline services."

"The specific locations are Croydon, Liverpool, Sheffield and the Kent offices of the London & Southeast region, as well as Border Force locations."

Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling has reacted angrily to the news:

"Hardly a day seems to go by without yet another example of Gordon Brown being dishonest with voters. He's been accusing the Conservatives of risking the recovery with plans for early action to reduce the deficit - and trying to talk tough on immigration - and yet it emerges that he's privately preparing to sack immigration officers to save money himself. It's blatant hypocrisy by our Prime Minister and just underlines why Britain desperately needs change."

No wonder so few people have faith in Labour's ability to deal with this issue.

Jonathan Isaby