At a Home Affairs Select Committee hearing into the work of the Border Force on Tuesday, 22 July, Vaz told Montgomery: "I understand that you are currently being taken to court by 250 people after the new uniforms that you had given them resulted in chemical-style burns, rashes and other ailments. What is the cause of all these border guards suing the government?"
But, Montgomery said that the “250 figure is not an accurate representation in that context.”
He said that 250 of the organisation’s 8,000 staff “reported itching of their uniform”, but that giving the uniform “good washes” had “cured the problem” in almost all cases.
While a “very small number of people—in single digits, I am told—have had rather more profound problems”, Montgomery added: “I am also advised that at least some of those are reporting recurrences of previous skin irritations. That is obviously a cause of concern for me.”
The Border Force, he said, “has won a national award for the business uniform of the year”.
Vaz responded by saying: “So even though it is a little itchy and it has caused chemical burns—I understand that Lucy Moreton, the general secretary of the union representing your members, says: ‘We have members who now have to wear silk burn garments beneath their uniforms to keep the material off their skin’. Despite those problems you still won an award.”
Montgomery’s riposte was: “The uniform won an award. These are very small numbers of people. I just want to make it clear that, after delivery of current operational success, the well-being and welfare of my people is my most important interest… Be assured, the numbers are very small and we have issued or are in the process of issuing pure cotton uniforms to those people so that the problems can be ameliorated.”
Asked which country the garments were sourced from, Montgomery said: “I can’t remember.”
Vaz suggested that “next time whoever spends £3 million of public money should try [the uniforms] on first, walk around in them, with or without silk lashings beneath them, to see whether they work.”
But Montgomery insisted that the uniforms had been “very carefully trialled, were designed and made according to standard law enforcement regulations and stipulations” and that “the fact that we have had these instances came as a complete surprise after very extensive trialling and testing.”