UK Home Secretary dismisses 'false' reports of being distrusted by her staff

British Home Secretary Priti Patel has dismissed the media reports of her being distrusted by the intelligence officials and bullied by her staff as “false”. According to international reports, officials have denied that MI5 did not reveal information to Patel after allegations that officials had lacked confidence in her capabilities. The British Home Secretary has reportedly also been accused of trying to force out the most senior civil servant in her department, Sir Philip Rutnam. 

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According to media reports, both Rutnamand Patel were “deeply concerned” by the “false allegations”. A spokesperson of the duo has also said that the pair were focussed on delivering their department's “hugely important agenda” such as new immigration system along with deploying more police officials on the streets and combatting terrorism. The statement reportedly came after BBC's source revealed that there was no animosity or “blazing rows” between Patel and Rutnam but they were simply “not the right fit”. Rutnam has been in Patel's department since 2017. 

The Home Office reportedly also said that no formal complaints have been made against Patel who has been the Home Secretary since UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson took the office. The British Security Minister James Brokenshire told an international media outlet that there had been “a lot of false stories” surfacing about Patel and the briefings by the security have been continuing as normal. Former Environment secretary of UK also called the British Home Secretary as “highly effective”. 

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Patel criticised for comments

Patel has said that it is “right” that the workers arriving in the UK “should speak English”. This comes after the UK introduced the new points-based immigration system, when Patel said stated that immigrants will “obviously” need to learn the language also have a “sponsored route” through employment or an academic institution in order to get a visa. However, what the British government is calling “taking back control”, it is being widely criticised by the citizens including actor David Schneider.  

In a TV interview, Patel said, “We're being very clear about this - this is a system that puts the British government in control of its immigration policy for the first time in decades. And, yes, it is right that people should speak English before they come to our country, that they should have a sponsored route, whether it's through employment or a sponsored route through an academic institution.” 

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(With agency inputs)