Report says UK spy chiefs don’t trust Home Secretary Priti Patel

LONDON: British intelligence chiefs are sharing less information with Home Secretary Priti Patel because they do not trust her or like her needless intervention in their work, a news report has suggested.

Top officials within the intelligence services, Cabinet Office and Home Office have shared that intelligence chiefs are reportedly sharing less information with Patel than they did with her predecessors because they do not “have confidence in her abilities”.

A report in The Sunday Time claimed that the MI5 finds the Home Secretary “extremely difficult to deal with” because she does not “grasp the subtleties of intelligence”.

The report added that security service personnel apparently regularly “roll their eyes” following interventions made by Patel during high-level meetings.

The Sunday Times reported that intelligence bosses have reduced the amount of information they share with Patel.

An official told the newspaper: “The spooks find her extremely difficult to deal with. She doesn't grasp the subtleties of intelligence. It's not black and white. They don't have confidence in her abilities.” Another source said the security services “have to decide how much to share, and they share less”.

Sources also claimed that Patel is now “informed about things later in the decision-making process”.

Separately, a senior civil servant has quit Patel’s team amid bullying allegations. Mark Thomson, the director-general of UK Visas and Immigration and HM Passport Office, will leave his role. Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) member Mick Jones blamed Patel’s approach to immigration policy for Thomson’s departure.

He told the Guardian: “He’s indicated to our reps that it was mainly because they had had major run-ins. It was clear that [Patel] had come in and was trying to do things that they [Home Office officials] just weren’t comfortable with and [Thomson] sort of said “I’m off then”.’

However, late on Sunday, the MI5 rejected claims that its officials are withholding information from Patel because they do not trust her.

An informed security source said Patel was getting the same information from the agency as any other home secretary.

The report was published after a series of stories – which have not been fully denied – claiming that Patel has had a series of difficult relationships with officials during her ministerial career and that she is currently trying to oust the permanent secretary at the Home Office, Sir Philip Rutnam.

Patel’s allies believe that officials are briefing against her because they do not like being challenged.

After allegations were published on Sunday, Patel expressed her concern at "false allegations" saying they were made about her amid claims of bullying and distrust from intelligence chiefs. An ally said she was "absolutely livid" about the recent slew of allegations and insisted she was demanding a leak inquiry to be carried out by the Cabinet Office.

However, Cabinet Office sources were adamant that a request had not been received either formally or informally, exposing an apparent escalation of the row.

The latest allegation came after she was accused of bullying officials and creating an "atmosphere of fear" at the department, which allies denied.

On Sunday, a Home Office spokesman said: "The Home Secretary and permanent secretary are deeply concerned about the number of false allegations appearing in the media.

"They are focused on delivering on the Home Office's hugely important agenda, which includes creating an immigration system that works for the UK, putting more police on the streets and keeping the public safe from terrorism."

A government spokesman responded, "The Home Secretary and MI5 have a strong and close working relationship, and baseless claims to the contrary are both wrong and against the public interest.”

Patel was first appointed to the cabinet in 2016 as international development secretary when Theresa May was prime minister. She was forced to resign the following year after it emerged that she had failed to tell No 10 about a series of meetings she had had with Israeli ministers while she was visiting the country for what was supposed to be a holiday.