Patel increasingly isolated in Cabinet over hapless Home Office performance

The UK had won plaudits for its policy on Ukraine ... now the mayor of Calais has accused Britain of a ‘lack of humanity’

Senior ministers appear to be putting clear blue water between themselves and Priti Patel as a result of what’s seen as the Home Office’s poor performance in helping Ukrainian refugees. They fear that it’s taking the gloss off the rest of the Government’s help for Kyiv, much of which has won global acclaim.

It’s arguably one of the best-known, and certainly most quoted, sayings by any Home Secretary – except that the one to whom it’s attributed, Labour’s John Reid, claims he never said “the Home Office is not fit for purpose”.

But the sentiment itself continues to have a great many adherents. And that is beginning to cause serious political problems for the current Home Secretary, with senior colleagues expressing exasperation at how badly British handling of Ukraine’s refugees compares with other countries.

The UK has won plaudits from the harassed Ukrainian authorities for providing a formidable array of highly effective weapons and instituting heavyweight sanctions against the Putin regime.

However, now the mayor of Calais, where hundreds of refugees are trying desperately to get UK visas, has accused Britain of a “lack of humanity”. In addition, MPS of all parties have been severely critical of the lack of urgency by the Home Office, with Labour describing its attitude as “callous” while the Tories’ Roger Gale insisted it’s time to cut the red tape.

Most worrying for Ms Patel, however, is the distinct lack of Cabinet solidarity as senior colleagues seem reluctant to share the blame for the confusion and complexities faced by refugees. They are deflecting questions about how few Britain is admitting and are pointedly insisting any problems are the sole responsibility of the Home Secretary.

Questioned on Monday by Labour MP Chris Bryant about preparations made for dealing with refugees, Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, said: “It’s really a matter for the Home Secretary.” Pressed on whether it may also be the FCO’S job to arrange for the biometric tests that are compulsory for refugees, she responded: “Exactly how the visa process works is, I believe, a Home Office responsibility.”

Yesterday, Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, questioned by Mishal Husain on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme about Britain’s response to the crisis, declared, “I don’t think we are bottling it’, and said the UK had helped train Ukrainian forces and had provided more than a thousand anti-air and anti-tank missiles. He defended the Government’s refugee plan, saying that Britain would accept 200,000 under the scheme to help those with relatives already in Britain and pledged to offer the Home Office assistance with what he called the “basic security check” for refugees. However, pressed further about the small number being allowed entry, he said: “I am not the Home Secretary.”

What has been crystal clear is that there is precious little of the antirefugee feeling among British people that might have explained Home Office reluctance to speed things up. Indeed, the opposite has been the case with millions of pounds raised by charities and churches and others bodies swamped with offers of help.

Sadly, unless I’m much mistaken, it seems that the old accusation against the Home Office remains true.