Her announcement follows the publication of a highly critical report by the Commons’ Home Affairs commttee on Monday. This complained that the UKBA had “misled” Parliament.
May told MPs that the structure of the UKBA encourages a “secretive culture”, and said it will be split into two parts: one focussing on the visa system, and the other on immigration law enforcement.
This is the second time in a year that the UKBA has been split into two distinct organisations. Last year, its border policing function was peeled off into a separate organisation: UK Border Force.