UK Home Office criticised for 'inexcusable' delays in processing cases of migrants in jail

The Home Office has been criticised by a watchdog for being too slow in processing the cases of migrants being held behind bars.

The “prolonged detention” of foreign detainees in jail under immigration powers because of the department’s “inefficiencies” is “inexcusable”, said chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor.

A review of conditions for immigration detainees found many were in prison for “long periods with little or no progress in their cases being made by the Home Office”.

One woman told inspectors she had been waiting six weeks to be removed from the country after agreeing to return home and offering to pay for her own flights.

She said she had received no clear update on when she should expect to travel.

In other cases, the Home Office’s independent case progression panel had recommended some detainees be released but they remained behind bars in prisons already under “enormous strain”, the findings showed.

If there is no prospect of removal within a reasonable period, detention “ceases to be lawful”, the watchdog’s report said.

But there was “little prospect of removal within a reasonable period for many detainees”.

Inspectors described the case of a person who had been detained for close to three years as “unacceptable”.

Migrant crossings on the English Channel surge amid heatwave - in pictures

“The prolonged detention of people under immigration powers, especially when it is because of inefficiencies in Home Office case-working procedures, is inexcusable given that so many prisons are already overcrowded,” Mr Taylor said.

Inspectors visited eight prisons and interviewed 45 immigration detainees and 33 staff in March and April.

"The progression of detainees’ immigration cases was not adequate in too many of the cases we reviewed, which meant that people were subject to avoidable periods of often lengthy immigration detention," their report said.

“This, combined with a lack of meaningful information from the Home Office regarding their case progression had led to frustration and feelings of helplessness in detainees, who told us they were often confused about what was happening.

“Slow case progression within the immigration system in general, and the restrictions on face-to-face contact during the pandemic, had compounded this problem.”

Nearly 700 migrants cross English Channel beating 2022 record - in pictures

Detainees struggled to obtain legal advice, with very few told they were allowed a free half-hour session with a lawyer.

Many prison and Home Office staff did not know of this entitlement, inspectors said.

Immigration papers were often served in English with no formal interpretation service to update prisoners on their cases, meaning inmates had to ask others to translate for them.

“Most worryingly”, vulnerable detainees, including victims of torture, were not routinely identified, the watchdog also found.

More than 200 migrants cross English Channel after pause in journeys - video

“Some of these people are extremely vulnerable," Mr Taylor said. "If these vulnerabilities are not monitored and addressed effectively, there is an increased risk that they will come to harm while in custody and that the integrity of the decision-making in their immigration cases will be undermined."

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Q&A: Quarantine rules limit travellers landing in the UK

Minister quits over Cummings scandal as Boris Johnson’s approval rating plummets

How to wear a kandura

Dos

Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts

Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying

Polarised public

31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all

Source: YouGov

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi

From: Dara

To: Team@

Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT

Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East

Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.

It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara