Border Force posts have been left unmanned allowing people to walk straight through, a damning report by David Neal, the former borders watchdog has revealed.
The Home Office has published 13 of the 15 outstanding reports submitted by Neal, who was sacked earlier this month after he criticised the UK Border Force over alleged security failings.
The report said: "The inspection found a lack of basic communication equipment. Inspectors saw border posts left unmanned while officers signalled for attention from their managers. This is unacceptable and needs to be addressed urgently."
He stressed that officers working the gates need to be able to multitask without leaving the gate, "especially when they need to react and address time-critical matters".
Border Force positions are being left unmanned, a new report has revealed
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He stated: "Border Force officers are often distracted from their core operational activity by the environments in which they operate. The inspection team witnessed roving officers distracted by having to manage queues and deal with passenger queries. Inspectors also observed how poor infrastructure in the arrival hall places additional stresses on officers."
Neal said that in the crucial role of a safeguarding roving officer, there was not always an officer present.
He said that he recommended the deployment of at least two officers at any given time in this role, but the Home Office rejected this in 2021.
The former watchdog added: "At an operational level, poor management of Home Office records results in more passengers referred from the ePassport 3 gates than ought to be, clogging up the system. This would appear to be due to inaccurate historical data not being cleansed from records."
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The former Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has revealed he was sacked on a Microsoft Teams call
PAOther topics discussed in the other reports asylum accommodation, Afghan resettlement scheme, asylum casework, Border Force practices, illegal working enforcement operations.
Two additional reports – on airport security and visas – are due to be published at a later date.
During his tenure, Neal repeatedly raised concerns that the department was too slow to publish his reports.
A No 10 spokeswoman said: “We wanted to publish them as swiftly as possible following the necessary and appropriate due diligence.”
Neal was fired earlier this month on a Microsoft Teams call, telling a Select Committee on Wednesday that he was "sacked for doing my job."
He added: "I think I've been sacked for doing what the law asks of me. And I've breached, I've fallen down over a clause in my employment contract, which I think is a crying shame because I think I can do my job extremely well.
Border Force positions are being left unmanned, a new report has revealedGETTY"I've been candid with this committee. We've produced multiple reports that have exposed the sometimes lack of effectiveness and lack of efficiency in the system that the Borders Act sets me up to inspect.
"I think I've worked very very hard with the Home Office to try and work with them to achieve what the legislation asks of me."
Neal and James Cleverly were at loggerheads just hours before the sacking after the border boss claimed hundreds of high-risk flights landed in the UK without security checks.
The former borders watchdog said that checks were not being carried out on hundreds of private jets arriving at a prominent London airport.
The Home Office categorically rejected the claims, arguing Neal “has chosen to put misleading data into the public domain”.
