Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to clause eight of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which civil servants would be eligible to serve as the Interim Border Security Commander.

The Border Security Command (BSC) was established on 5 July 2024 and Martin Hewitt CBE QPM took on the role of Border Security Commander on 7 October 2024. The BSC’s first priority is tackling organised immigration crime (OIC) and reducing irregular migration to the UK, and the Commander is already providing effective systems leadership to deliver this. Any announcements on how the BSC will report on its activities will be made in the normal way in due course.

If the Secretary of State was obliged at some future point designate a civil servant as the Interim Border Security Commander, they would make the decision based on the individuals.