@Puzzledandpissedoff
The link's behind a paywall, Blossom, but if it's the usual journalistic hyperbole I wouldn't take too much notice
Sorry, I’ll do another Clav.
Priti Patel is facing a mutiny from Home Office civil servants over her controversial Rwanda policy after a leading mandarin formally challenged its value for money.
Unions representing Whitehall workers warned of mass walk-outs and transfer requests over the ethical and legal implications of the policy to send illegal migrants 5,000 miles to the African country for processing.
The threat from civil servants will reinforce concerns among top Conservatives about the dysfunctional nature of the Home Office which has repeatedly faced questions over its handling of immigration.
It comes after Boris Johnson said he was prepared to take on human rights lawyers and parts of the Left-leaning establishment to enact the policy to slash illegal migration into the UK.
Home Office sources confirmed that Ms Patel had to force civil servants to sign off on the Rwanda partnership plan by issuing a ministerial direction – required when officials challenge policy proposals on value for money grounds.
The direction is thought to have been sought by Matthew Rycroft, the permanent secretary at the Home Office for the past two years. It is only the second ministerial direction the Home Office has received in the past 30 years, along with bringing forward the Windrush compensation scheme before legislation.
This is despite the policy being expected to cost between £20,000 and £30,000 per migrant, covering hotel accommodation before departure, the flight to Rwanda and the first three months of accommodation there.
Tom Pursglove, the immigration minister, also said on Friday that sending migrants to Rwanda would save Britain money in the "longer term".
Ms Patel, the Home Secretary, set out details in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, of a deal to send asylum seekers who entered the UK illegally to the country, where they would be given an opportunity to build a "new life".
The policy has split Left and Right, with new polling from Find Out Now showing that it is overwhelmingly popular among Conservative and Leave voters, while as few as one in 10 Labour voters back it.
It has also caused deep disquiet in Whitehall, where civil servants could down tools and walk out rather than implement it. One official, who works outside the Home Office, told The Telegraph that the Rwanda plan was "taking 'hostile environment' to a whole new level".
Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA trade union, which has 19,000 members, warned that officials could demand a transfer from the Home Office or leave the civil service entirely rather than deliver the policy.
"As a civil servant, your choice is either to implement the Government's policy or resign," he said. "The Home Office is often where the most controversial policies happen, but people will say that a line has been crossed.
"Their choice will be either to go along with it or leave the Home Office. It will be the case that a lot of people will leave either the department or the civil service."
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), the largest in the Civil Service with nearly 180,000 members, said that "to attempt to claim this is anything other than utterly inhumane is sheer hypocrisy".
The PCS, which represents the vast majority of border force staff, said earlier this year that it would go on strike over Ms Patel's "morally reprehensible" plans to "push back" small boats in the Channel.
Home Office sources confirmed that the Home Secretary had issued a ministerial direction with regard to the Rwanda partnership because of the lack of certainty that the plans offered good value for money for the taxpayer.
However, friends of Ms Patel shrugged off concerns, saying civil servants had not quit over previous scandals such as Windrush.
On Friday night, a source pointed out that the asylum system costs £1.5 billion per year, including £4.7 million a day on hotels for those who have arrived illegally and through resettlement programmes.
The source said: "Home office officials are clear that deterring illegal entry would create significant savings. However, such a deterrent effect cannot be quantified with certainty.
"It would be wrong to let a lack of precise modelling delay a policy aimed at reducing illegal migration, saving lives, and breaking the business model of the smuggling gangs."
On Friday, Ms Patel insisted her Rwanda plan was a "blueprint" for other countries to follow, telling reporters there was "frustration" among her counterparts in other European countries about the current asylum system. She said many have followed details of her Rwanda deal with interest.
She revealed that the Danish government has been in talks with Rwanda for two years and even proposed striking a joint deal with the UK to relocate migrants there.