The new home secretary Shabana Mahmood has admitted that the Home Office is “not yet fit for purpose” and has repeatedly failed to rise to the scale of multiple crises — from illegal migration to asylum accommodation and internal leadership churn.
In an interview with the BBC during a police operation in south London targeting illegal workers, Mahmood acknowledged deep-rooted problems in the department she inherited last month, including contract mismanagement, staff retention, and an overstretched enforcement system.
“The Home Office obviously deals with emergency and crises issues on a regular basis, and over a long period of time has been found not to be able to rise to the scale of the challenge,” Mahmood said. “We’ve got a range of problems — but I’m determined to deliver.”
Her comments come amid mounting pressure on the government to tackle both illegal working and the spiralling cost of asylum hotels, which a recent parliamentary report said had wasted “billions” of pounds.
Mahmood insisted that the government’s crackdown on illegal employment was beginning to show results, with 8,232 arrests made over the past year — a 63% increase on the previous 12 months.
“The enforcement of our rules has been lacking — it wasn’t good enough or strong enough under the last government,” she said. “The law hasn’t kept pace with the changes in the way people get work. The numbers are still not where I want them to be, but they’re moving in the right direction.”
Despite the improved figures, BBC cameras following enforcement officers in London found no illegal workers during two hours of spot checks — a reminder, critics say, of the scale of the enforcement challenge in sectors such as food delivery and logistics.
Ministers believe tougher workplace checks will reduce “pull factors” for people entering the UK illegally, particularly through small boat crossings.
The Home Office’s use of hotels to house asylum seekers has become one of its most politically and financially toxic issues. Mahmood described them as “a blight on our communities” and confirmed she intends to move some migrants into military sites in Inverness and East Sussex by the end of the year.
“We are working at pace to deliver new sites,” she said. “I hope to be within two new military sites by the end of the year. Discussions are well advanced in terms of planning for those moves.”
Pressed on whether the new accommodation plan would save taxpayers money, Mahmood would not commit — but said she was reviewing “all options” in existing hotel contracts, including possible break clauses next spring.
“I will need to look very carefully at the legal arrangements in those contracts,” she said, “and act in the best interests of our country and our taxpayers.”
Mahmood’s comments came just days after the mistaken release of Hadush Kebatu, an asylum seeker convicted of multiple sexual assaults, who was later deported to Ethiopia. The case has reignited anger over the Home Office’s handling of asylum accommodation and offender management.
Neil Hudson, Conservative MP for Epping Forest, said the community was “relieved” by Kebatu’s deportation but condemned the government’s decision to reopen the Bell Hotel — where Kebatu had been housed — as “incredibly frustrating”.
“The hotel needs to be closed — it’s the wrong place, near the forest and two schools,” he said.
The opposition has also faced renewed attacks over its immigration stance. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour’s decision to scrap the Rwanda deportation scheme had “removed deterrence” and claimed that small boat crossings have risen 40% since the policy was dropped.
Mahmood did not directly respond to those figures but said enforcement reform and international cooperation — including a “one in, one out” arrangement with France — would be central to her migration strategy.
The home secretary’s frank admission that the department is “not yet fit for purpose” is the clearest signal yet that the new government intends to restructure the Home Office’s culture and systems. She confirmed she is working closely with Antonia Romeo, the department’s newly appointed permanent secretary, to tackle inefficiencies and stabilise senior leadership turnover.
Analysts say Mahmood’s challenge mirrors that faced by her predecessors: a department burdened by crisis management, political volatility, and a patchwork of overlapping responsibilities spanning immigration, policing, counter-terrorism and national security.
The question now is whether the new home secretary can succeed where others have stumbled — turning an embattled bureaucracy into a department capable of both strategic reform and operational delivery.
“This department has to be able to meet the moment,” Mahmood said. “I’m not under any illusions about how hard that will be — but we have to get this right.”
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Mahmood admits Home Office ‘not fit for purpose’ amid crises and staff exodus