Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has admitted that the Home Office is “not yet fit for purpose”.

She vowed to rebuild the department, which is responsible for internal security, public safety and immigration, so that it “delivers for this country”.

A damning report labelled the Home Office, which Ms Mahmood took charge of last month, as having a “culture of defeatism” on immigration.

The two-month review of its effectiveness was led by the former Home Office special adviser Nick Timothy, now a Conservative MP, and was commissioned in 2022 by the then Home Secretary, Suella Braverman.

It concluded that “too much time is wasted” on identity politics and social issues, adding that civil servants meet in “listening circles” to discuss them.

The report also found that no single official is responsible for the immigration system as a whole, describing the structure as “uneven”.

On Wednesday, Mahmood said: “This report, written under the last Government, is damning. To those who have encountered the Home Office in recent years, the revelations are all too familiar.

“The Home Office is not yet fit for purpose, and has been set up for failure. As this report shows, the last Conservative Government knew this, but failed to do anything about it.

She added: “Things are now changing. I will work with the new permanent secretary to transform the Home Office so that it delivers for this country.”

The Home Office was most seriously criticised on its “lethargic” handling of immigration, with a backlog of 166,000 asylum cases and interviews often delayed for up to two years.

Civil servants refused to work on immigration due to personal beliefs or fear of “likely legal challenge, and even the possibility of defeat”, used “as a reason not to do something”.

Outdated technology also makes it “impossible to answer straightforward questions quickly”.

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Mr Timothy dismissed calls to split up the department, calling it a “distraction from the delivery of core business”, and argued that urgent investment in modern, interoperable systems is needed to improve decision-making.

On Wednesday, over 200 migrants crossed the channel, taking the total number of arrivals so far this year to 36,956.

The figure is 70 higher than the 36,816 migrants who crossed the Channel illegally during the whole of 2024.

Ms Mahmood released a statement following the grim milestone where she described the figures as “shameful”.

The statement read: “The previous Government left our borders in crisis, and we are still living with the consequences.

“These figures are shameful – the British people deserve better.

“This Government is taking action. We have detained and removed more than 35,000 who were here illegally. Our historic deal with the French means those who arrive on small boats are now being sent back.

“But it is clear we must go further and faster – removing more of those here illegally, and stopping migrants from making small boat crossings in the first place. And I have been clear: I will do whatever it takes to restore order to our border.”

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