The ‘Not Fit For Purpose’ Department - Part 2

As an Easter treat, we thought we’d give you something a bit different.

Adam and Chris have got together to have a proper in depth look at the government department that deals with some of the most important and politically pertinent issues of our time - the Home Office.

The idea came up in October last year when Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood took over and said it was “not yet fit for purpose” and had been “set up to fail”.

She was channelling her predecessor of 20 years ago, John Reid, who first made the ‘not fit for purpose’ phrase famous.

With the help of former insiders and home secretaries, we’re asking, if the same verdict can be reached twenty years apart, are the problems in the department fundemental?

In this second of three episodes in the series, former home secretaries compare notes on leading the department. They are:

- Amber Rudd, Conservative Home Secretary 2016-2018 - Charles Clarke, Labour Home Secretary 2004-2006

You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.

You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord

Get in touch with Newscast by emailing [email protected] or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.

New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd

Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC.

The presenters were Adam Fleming and Chris Mason. It was made by the series producer Chris Flynn with Harry Craig. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. The social producer was Grace Braddock. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.