A top civil servant today told MPs there is nothing more the Home Office loves "than a good crisis", before apologising for using "overly flippant words".
Matthew Rycroft was quizzed by the Commons Home Affairs Committee, and asked why there "always seems to be a crisis going on" in the department.
He confidently told MPs: "You may recall when the Home Secretary and I set up a transformation programme for the Home Office, called One Home Office, one of the things that we were seeking to unlock was the sense in the department that we do go from crisis to crisis.
“You know, there’s nothing that the Home Office loves better than a good crisis. And of course, responding well to crises is an important part of the functioning of a department of state. But there is a lot more to it than that.
“And what I am seeking to do is to get us better at dealing with business as usual, and preventing things from becoming crises.”
After apologising, Mr Rycroft was challenged to explain what crisis had ended well in teh department since he has been permanent secretary.
“They haven’t ended well for either Afghanistan or for Ukraine," he was forced to admit.
“But they are continuing to go well in terms of the Home Office contribution to resettling 13,000 Afghans, and so far 120,000-plus Ukrainians, so I think that is a positive contribution by the Home Office.”
Mr Rycroft appeared before MPs to give details on the work of his department.
He told the Committee it is "impossible" to say how many people need to be sent to Rwanda in order to deter people from making dangerous crossings.
Earlier this week the Government did not rule out trying to send another deportation flight to Rwanda before the outcome of a full High Court review of the policy.
When asked if Priti Patel will not "gamble" on another "reckless expensive attempt at these removals", Home Office minister Tom Pursglove refused to comment.
In the same session today, Mr Rycroft was asked about a warning from the author of a critical review, Wendy Williams who insisted “cultural changes” are required in the department.
Wendy Williams said she was “disappointed” with the progress made by the Home Office since she set it 30 recommendations for improvement two years ago.
"Cultural change takes time. It would be, I think, impossible to change completely a culture over 18 months," Mr Rycroft.
“I’m pleased with the direction that we have set and with the steps that we have taken but they are not enough, they don’t go far enough, we haven’t gone fast enough, and that’s what we are seeking to put right now.”
