Former UK border chief agrees pay-off

The former head of the border force, who resigned after angry clashes with Theresa May, reached an out-of-court settlement with the Home Office yesterday. Under the terms of the agreement, neither side admitted any liability or wrongdoing and details of the pay-off were not disclosed.

Brodie Clark was suspended in November as head of the UK Border Agency (UKBA) when a storm broke out over the relaxation of checks on passengers. He then resigned from his £140,000-a-year post shortly afterwards to launch a constructive dismissal case, accusing the Home Secretary of making misleading remarks about him.

The Independent disclosed at the time that Ms May had been warned by her lawyers that he was likely to win the case because she and her advisers had breached Whitehall rules on handling disciplinary action.

In a joint statement yesterday, Mr Clark and the Home Office announced they had reached an agreement and would make no further comment.

"The settlement is without the admission of liability or wrongdoing from either side," the statement read. "Mr Clark and the Home Office believe that reaching a settlement is right and that it will ensure the focus is correctly maintained on future border security."

Mr Clark, who had 40 years' service with the department, admitted he had used guidance designed for health and safety emergencies to suspend fingerprint checks at ports with ministers' permission, but denied being a "rogue officer" and accused Ms May of blaming him for "political convenience".