Whitehall’s body, which announced a review of the accuracy of official documents on Priti Patel’s policy for Rwanda, could be revised or even removed as part of an attempt to reduce the number of quangos.
The Telegraph understands that the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) has been identified as part of the government’s efforts to reduce the size and number of quangos and ensure that every public body is “needed”.
Any move to abolish ICIBI is likely to provoke a fierce clash with opposition parties in parliament, where ministers will have to repeal a section of Labor’s Borders Act introduced in 2007 to set up the body.
The revelation comes when Priti Patel is looking for an independent reviewer to investigate the work of the body.
The role was designed to respond to a recommendation from Wendy Williams, Her Majesty’s Police Inspectorate, which investigated the government’s handling of the Windrush scandal and concluded that a review of the authority’s “powers and role” was needed.
She said the review should consider giving ICIBI “more powers to publish reports”.
But a Whitehall source suggested the review could cut off the body’s wings, saying: “Once the review is over, ministers will be able to make a full and candid assessment of its future. Whether this is the right body, the right set -up – all that needs to be considered.
“We have to be the only country in the world that spends taxpayers’ money to check what we are doing, instead of allowing the opposition to do it.
The government has been criticized by opposition lawmakers over Ms Patel’s deal with Rwanda, which says migrants arriving in the UK illegally will be sent to the East African country to seek asylum and resettlement.
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