To clarify our position following reporting in yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph. Inaccuracies in the article have been changed following our representation.
As a matter of longstanding company policy, Serco does not take political positions, nor do we comment on the policy programmes of political parties.
Policy decisions are matters for whatever party is in government. Serco’s responsibility is to deliver services as specified by the contracting authority as we have for the past 60 years. We operate across many parts of the immigration system, including detention and preparation for removals. We would expect to offer and perform such services in the future.
We remain focused on supporting the effective operation of high-quality, value‑for‑money public services.
🚨 Serco - the government contractor that runs large parts of Britian's immigration and justice operation - has taken the extraordinary position of saying it would oppose Reform's plan to deport illegal migrants from Britain.
Having read the Telegraph's report making this claim, I have written to Serco's CEO asking him to urgently clarify their position.
Serco is the firm the Home Office uses to deposit unvetted men from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq into British housing estates without the knowledge nor consent of local residents.
Serco is the firm that launches huge bids for rental homes, outbidding local residents by such a vast amount that lifelong residents - including veterans - have been served eviction notices by landlords. All to house illegal migrants.
Serco has expressed no moral concern about any of this.
Yet they apparently take exception to our plan to actually uphold immigration law and remove those who break it.
Moreover, if the Telegraph's reporting is correct, a company so enmeshed in the British state it even runs recruitment for British Armed Forces, says it will take a hostile position to a duly elected Reform government.
If the Telegraph’s reporting is correct, the only reasonable interpretation of Serco’s position is that it now believes itself to be an alternative power base to the duly elected government of the United Kingdom, and is willing to act contrary to the interests of the British electorate.
If this were true, a Reform government would be left with no choice but to view Serco as a threat to national security.
I have given Serco until 6pm to clarify their position.
Should they fail to do so, we will take the following steps to decouple the British Government from Serco:
1) On forming a Government, we will initiate an accelerated review of all Government contracting with Serco with the aim of removing Serco as a public contractor within our first Parliamentary term.
2) Where Serco has breached contracts or break clauses are available, we will terminate those contracts and continue to exercise break clauses as they come due.
My full letter below 👇
