Officers fail to track immigrants who have been ordered to leave the country after exhausting all the appeal processes because it is not “an effective enforcement strategy”.

In highly damaging evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee, Home Office officials were forced to admit that they had no idea how many people had been told to leave the country or how many were not complying with reporting requirements.

Exasperated MPs clashed repeatedly with the officials when they were unable to give detailed answers to questions about efforts to curb illegal working and remove illegal immigrants from Britain.

The failure of officials to provide any figures to the committee is deeply embarrassing, only days after the Prime Minister made removals a key objective for John Reid, the new Home Secretary. Mr Blair sent a letter to Mr Reid saying that he wanted additional progress made in tackling the stock of failed asylum-seekers and illegal immigrants.

David Winnick, the deputy chairman of the committee, told the officials that their inability to provide figures “made a mockery of immigration control”.

The committee was told by the chief economist at the Department for Work and Pensions that between 200,000 and 300,000 national insurance numbers were issued each year to foreigners and that immigration checks were carried out on only 2 per cent.

John Denham, the committee chairman, said that it had received evidence that very little happened to people who were found illegally working or employing people. “Given that there is very little enforcement, it might seem sensible not to issue NI numbers to people who are not legally in the country,” he said.

The committee was hearing evidence from James Quinault, the director of managed migration at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, and Dave Roberts, the director of removals and enforcement.

Mr Roberts said that he did not know how many illegal immigrants there were in the UK but that he was aware of Home Office research suggesting a figure of about 400,000.

Asked how many people had been sent letters telling them that they should leave the country, he replied that he did not have the figure.

Mr Roberts was asked three times how many people were not complying with reporting restriction or had ignored instructions laid down by the immigration service. He said: “I cannot answer that in the direct way you ask it.”

Mr Roberts added: “We are making huge efforts to remove people but not on the basis of tracking individuals.”

• No officials in the Home Office are to lose their jobs over 1,023 foreign prisoners who have been released without being considered for deportation.

  Sir Gus O’Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, told the Public Administration Committee that it was not clear that any civil servants were “directly accountable”. He said that an internal inquiry would be conducted into the fiasco, which resulted in Charles Clarke being sacked as Home Secretary.

  Sir Gus said that there was a “wide range of officials” responsible for “a number of jobs”. He added: “There have been mistakes, but precisely how that should be reflected in action is a complex issue.”

WHAT THE REMOVAL MEN DID NOT KNOW

‘How many people are illegally in the UK?’
‘I haven’t the faintest idea.’

‘How many people are not complying with reporting requirements?’
‘I cannot give you those details. I do apologise.’

‘Roughly, how many comply with reporting requirements?’
‘I can’t answer that question in the direct way you ask it.’

‘How many people have been removed when all their appeal processes have been exhausted?’
‘We don’t track individual cases.’

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