Home Office branded a 'sad shambles' by ex-minister in blistering migrant crisis rant

David Mellor, who worked as a minister under Margaret Thatcher, said he is “sick” of the whole affair, and says the issue should come as little surprise to those who are responsible for arranging the barge’s logistics.

He told GB News about his experience of working as a Home Office minister, saying it was a “proud” experience, but it is now a shadow of what he saw.

“There’s a competition in this country”, he told Stephen Dixon and Isabel Webster.

“Who are the more useless, the Conservatives, Labour or Civil Servants? I don’t stand back and think, they’re doing so well.

“I was proud to be a Home Office minister for five years, when it contained the Ministry of Justice.

“It was a department of high morale. For it to become the sad shambles it has become today is really disappointing.”

Downing Street on Monday insisted that the Prime Minister retained confidence in Home Secretary Suella Braverman, as questions continue to be asked about when Home Office officials were first informed about issues on the barge.

The Government has said that Home Office ministers were not told about the situation until the night of August 10, despite claims a local council told the contractors running the vessel about test results on August 7 – the day migrants boarded the barge.

The discovery eventually led to the removal on August 11 of all 39 people who had boarded the floating accommodation docked in Portland, Dorset.

Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman claimed ministers only became aware of the issue on August 10, adding that the Home Office was still “clarifying” details of whether officials may have been aware earlier.

“I think we will be communicating with all relevant groups to see if there are any lessons that can be learned, as you would expect in any public health situation,” he said.

“We remain confident that we have acted quickly once informed.”

Legionella was detected in a sample analysed by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on behalf of Dorset’s environmental health team.

It was revealed today that UK Border Force and Maritime authorities had been on “red alert” after multiple small migrant boats were spotted in the English Channel.

Around 50 asylum seekers were spotted on a boat at Dover harbour at 3.30am this morning.

Around 755 migrants made the journey on Thursday - the highest daily number so far this year.

More than 100,000 crossings have been made since 2018 with 16,000 of those since the start of 2023.