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Position of minister 'untenable' after border jobs scandal

26 July 2012

The position of Home Office minister Damian Green is "untenable" following the scandal that emerged yesterday over the hundreds of new border force jobs.

As part of its announcement that the Home Office strike planned for today would be called off, the union cited the 800 new jobs being advertised for border force officers.

But Mr Green said he "did not recognise" these jobs, adding that some had been advertised for "many weeks now", with some posts already filled, and that "no new jobs have been advertised since the union threatened to strike". All of these claims were later shown to be false.

The union's general secretary Mark Serwotka has today written to Mr Green about these "significantly misleading statements" to demand an apology and for all 800 jobs as advertised to be filled.

His letter says the minister's claims were "either a deliberate attempt to mislead our members and the general public or an indication of a level of chaos at the top of the Home Office that raises serious concern".

"As a result, PCS considers your position as a minister of state to be untenable.

"I call on you to apologise for misleading the public and Home Office staff. Moreover, while PCS welcomes the progress that has allowed us to suspend industrial action, we call on you to honour the stated intention to recruit 800 staff in the border force."

The chair of PCS's parliamentary group John McDonnell MP, whose constituency covers Heathrow Airport, has also today called on prime minister David Cameron to replace Mr Green, saying: "The prime minister needs to get a grip and replace this minister. Someone so deeply out of his depth cannot be left in charge of such a sensitive area of policy."

 

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