Just be absolutely clear for anyone reading, the secretary of state in this case is the home secretary, currently Priti Patel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pr

Just be absolutely clear for anyone reading, the secretary of state in this case is the home secretary, currently Priti Patel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priti_Patel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priti_Patel She is a Conservative party politician who was elected as an MP, and then appointed to the home office by the prime minister, who is also a Conservative party politician and MP. She is not "not (officially) a civil servant", she is an elected politician.