Home Office bonuses double since 2002

12.00.00am GMT Sun 6th Apr 2008

The Home Office has paid out nearly £22m in staff bonuses in the last five years, according to figures revealed by the Liberal Democrats.

The figures also show that the amount paid out each year has doubled since 2002, despite a string of serious failures by the department which was famously described by one Home Secretary as 'not fit for purpose'.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said:

"How on earth can the Home Office justify these huge bonuses given its lamentable performance in recent years?

"Immigration is in chaos, asylum cases are falling behind again and violent crime has risen sharply.

"In 2006-7, the Home Office was responsible for the failure to deport hundreds of foreign prisoners at the end of their sentences, it lost track of 300 sex offenders, and it failed to implement an overseas travel ban on convicted drug traffickers.

"The department also failed to load the details of crimes committed abroad onto the police national computer, and it lost 1,500 passports.

"If this is the sort of success worthy of sky-high bonuses, please give us failure.

"Taxpayers will be rightly annoyed to see a department identified by its own boss as 'not fit for purpose' rewarding failure in this way."