US News Priti Patel: MI5 'reduced volume of intelligence' they show home secretary because they do 'not trust' her

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Priti Patel is facing mounting pressures in the Home Office over claims that intelligence chiefs at MI5 do "not trust" her.

Security service officers have reportedly cut back the volume of intelligence they show to the Home Secretary. It is also claimed officials often “roll their eyes” at her interjections during meetings.

Allies of Ms Patel told The Sunday Times that they believe she is the victim of a briefing operation against her following her attempt to have permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam sacked from his role.

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However, intelligence officers say that it is her own conduct that makes her "extremely difficult to deal with".

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No 'confidence in her abilities'

“She doesn’t grasp the subtleties of intelligence," one told the broadsheet. "It’s not black and white. They don’t have confidence in her abilities.”

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“They have to decide how much to share, and they share less," another said.

"She is also informed about things later in the decision-making process than before. Some things the security services do have legal implications, but she tends not to want to hear that.”

A further source told the paper that Ms Patel had failed to attend weekly cross-Whitehall meetings - during which security officials discuss findings on key issues - for several months.

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Rutnam complaints

One civil servant close to Ms Patel rejected claims that she did not support the law, instead claiming that Sir Philip had a "hilariously transparent" track record of citing legal issues to do away with ideas he dislikes.

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The news comes as it is revealed that former home secretary Amber Rudd filed a formal complaint about Sir Philip over his absence during the Windrush scandal.

A leaked transcript of Ms Rudd's complaint is set to be published in a report by HM Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams in the near future.

“I find his absence inappropriate," Ms Rudd is quoted as saying in the report seen by The Sunday Times.

"He was absent through my final few weeks and days. I think a good permanent secretary would lean in to a real difficulty like this rather than sit back from it.”

Asked if she felt supported by the permanent secretary in her job, she said: “No, not really. The first permanent secretary I had was [now Sir] Mark Sedwill, who I did feel properly supported me. He is a leader of people. I got on very well with Philip Rutnam, but I felt his absence very much over this period and over this area.”

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Senior figures in the government are now thought to be discussing whether a deal should be struck by prime minister Boris Johson and now cabinet secretary Sir Sedwill to remove both Patel and Sir Philip from their positions.

A spokesperson from the Home Office said the allegations about Sir Philip practice were "entirely false and without foundation.”

Bullying allegations

Meanwhile,  further bullying allegations made against Ms Patel have surfaced.

Union sources claim that "major run-ins" with one of the home office's most senior civil servants on immigration, Mark Thompson, led to his resignation just weeks after her appointment.

Mick Jones of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), the largest trade union for Home Office staff, told the Guardian that Patel's approach to a number of issues on immigration pushed Thomson to leave his job.

“He’s indicated to our reps that it was mainly because they had had major run-ins," Mr Jones said.

"It was clear that [Patel] had come in and was trying to do things that they [Home Office officials] just weren’t comfortable with and [Thomson] sort of said ‘I’m off then’.”

However, Home Office sources countered the statement, saying that Mr Thompson had left before Patel was appointed to pursue other career opportunities.