Antonia Romeo, the new permanent secretary at the Home Office, has commissioned a review of complaints, conduct and disciplinary procedures at the department “to ensure absolute confidence in the integrity of the system”.
It comes after an investigation reportedly found a senior official in the Border Force had behaved inappropriately but left without facing formal consequences.
The Home Office confirmed the launch of the review in a statement responding to a story in the Guardian that said the official had “harassed and behaved inappropriately towards a female colleague, before being able to leave the civil service with an unblemished record after a 'shambolic' disciplinary process”.
Steve Dann, who left the Border Force in December after four years as chief operating officer, was accused of misogynistic name-calling and making comments to women with sexual connotations, according to the newspaper.
A colleague who had worked with Dann for 18 months reported him in February 2024, and an internal grievance inquiry was launched two months later, the article said.
According to sources who spoke to the the Guardian, Dann suggested to female officers that regional directors could play a game of Naked Attraction – the Channel 4 dating show where contestants appear fully nude – on an official visit to the Border Force in Paris. This reportedly led to a de-facto ban on him attending the organisation’s Paris offices.
He is also reported to have referred to a colleague going through menopause as "the sweaty woman in the corner" during a discussion on the diversity of his office and messaged a female colleague suggesting she had a “porn star name”. He is also alleged to have asked junior colleagues if they knew what a “fluffer” was, and explained it was “someone whose job was to keep a porn star’s penis erect”.
Dann denied the allegations. He said he did not recall some of the incidents, that others were taken out of context, and that selected evidence had been used during the investigation by the Home Office’s Professional Standards Unit, according to the Guardian. The newspaper said Dann acknowledged some of his comments were “careless”, but said he had never intended to upset or offend.
The complaint was not initially upheld. However, it was upheld on appeal in October 2024, with the Home Office acknowledging in a letter to the complainant that Dann’s conduct had fallen below expected standards and was in breach of the department’s policies on appropriate behaviour, sources told the newspaper.
A separate misconduct investigation into the claims was not upheld, with no formal disciplinary sanction imposed. No record was made on Dann’s file, but he was asked to undergo training, according to the newspaper.
One source told the Guardian the HR process had been peppered with “procedural errors and delays”.
The newspaper reported that Dann had “avoided any formal consequences because the separate earlier disciplinary process had already concluded and the rules meant it could not be reopened”.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “While we do not comment on individual HR cases, where there are allegations of inappropriate behaviour or sexual harassment the Home Office will investigate and take appropriate action.
“The Home Office expects the highest standard from all members of staff and does not tolerate anyone displaying or taking part in unacceptable behaviour.
"The new permanent secretary has already commissioned a review of complaints, conduct and disciplinary procedures, to ensure absolute confidence in the integrity of the system.”