Former head of policy at illegal migration taskforce details ‘inhumane conversations’
A senior civil servant has said Cabinet Office officials making policy on small boats referred to “bloody migrants” and were expected to “leave their humanity at the door”.In an interview with the Guardian, Ahmar described “inhumane conversations” that took place in the illegal migration taskforce, where she was head of policy in 2022. She said those creating theignored legal advice and told her to let them ambush the Treasury with the cost to push the scheme through.
When the likely high cost of the scheme emerged, she said: “I was told: ‘Do not mention it to the Treasury, we want to ambush them.’ And basically, this is what they ended up doing, they ambushed them, they spent the money … it’s taxpayers’ money on the floor.”Rowaa Ahmar withdrew a tribunal claim alleging ‘unrelenting and systemic’ racism in the Cabinet Office but said she stands by the substance
Describing the discussions that led to decisions on small boats, she said: “I was privy to some inhumane conversations using the words ‘let’s boomerang them’, ‘bloody migrants’, ‘let’s take them in Cat C and treat them as prisoners.’”She added: “I can’t reveal the legal advice, but I was pushing for the legal advice to be respected.”
Ultimately, Ahar said, she “didn’t really feel comfortable being head of policy in a taskforce where they talk about things like turnaround tactics, so they can just die, basically.” She said: “The civil servants are all white. They don’t understand how hard it is for migrants to be here.”Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersAhmar said in the papers: “I believe that speaking up against racism was a career death sentence at the .
In an internal investigation it was found that a “bullying, harassment and discrimination” complaint she brought against a manager was “partially upheld”, with behaviour that “amounted to bullying”, but that there was “no malice” and it was an issue of communication.
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