Dozens of Home Office staff under criminal investigation, FoI data shows

The data, which covers the past three years, also shows there have been two criminal convictions of Home Office staff after investigations by the ACCIU.

In separate data disclosed by the Home Office in February 2024 to a civil servant, 60 staff were dismissed for a range of offences between 2019-20 and 2023-24.

These include bullying, harassment, discrimination, abuse of position, theft corruption, fraud or forgery – while a further 63 received written warnings for these disciplinary offences.

However, according to the FoI response: “If any part of the allegation was substantiated and the individual identified this was passed to line managers to consider disciplinary action.”

Louise Calvey, the executive director of the charity Asylum Matters, said: “It’s hugely alarming and worrying to hear that such a large number of people involved in making decisions on immigration status have such significant concerns being investigated against them.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We expect the highest standards from staff processing visa applications and assessing asylum claims to ensure decisions are sound and that protection is granted to those who genuinely need it.