Glass houses

The Windrush scandal is evidence of bureaucratic failure and a Home Office that, in several key areas, is not fit for purpose. The British immigration system has been dogged by problems for years, and officials do not keep an adequate check on those both coming and going. That said, the British are perfectly capable of criticising the situation and fixing it by themselves. The last thing we need is the EU passing comment as part of a clumsy attempt to reopen the Brexit debate.

But it was inevitable that European politicians would have their say, and that Guy Verhofstadt would be at the front of the pack. The European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator said he was worried that EU citizens might face the same red-tape nightmare as the Windrush migrants and, certainly, the British Government has to ensure a smooth transition. But it should not take lectures from an EU that itself has so many problems with immigration – from the effective free movement of terrorists across open borders to the horrendous passport queues that hit tourists last year. And the decision of European governments to welcome so many refugees has led to a populist backlash and, subsequently, deportations.

Yesterday, in Strasbourg, Emmanuel Macron, delivering a speech on life after Brexit, spoke of a Europe torn between liberals and populists – and thus betrayed the very divisions that make the EU’S future so uncertain. Europe might be managed by federalist utopians such as Mr Verhofstadt, but it is populated by people who are weary of the EU’S own bureaucracy and its flawed immigration policies. It needs to put its own house in order before criticising others.