MPs demand that minister and officials explain border failings A home office minister and senior officials at the UK Border Agency have been ordered to appear before MPs next week to face questions about how Parliament was misled over efforts to trace more than 120,000 asylum seekers and migrants. Damian Green, who was the immigration minister at the time of the errors and responsible for the agency, will be called to give evidence about how much ministers knew about the debacle. It comes after a damning report found that, despite reassurances from officials that "exhaustive checks" were taking place, the agency made minimal effort to trace 124,000 cases of asylum seekers and migrants before putting them in an archive of cases to clear its backlog before a deadline last year. The report and a catalogue of errors over the past few years showed "root and branch" reform was needed, Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons home affairs select committee, said yesterday. The agency failed to carry out proper checks and at one point had 100,000 pieces of unopened post, including letters from MPs and lawyers, reported John Vine, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration. "With the catalogue of errors over the last few years and now with this scathing report by John Vine, the Government must look to reform UKBA," said Mr Vaz. It is no good the Home Office saying that it is a troubled organisation but is getting better. When senior officials give misleading information to select committees about issues which affect the viability of immigration control it is clear that the reform needed is root and branch. Mr Green, who is now the policing minister, will be called before the committee on Tuesday, said Mr Vaz. "It could well be that ministers themselves were given the wrong information," he added. Rob Whiteman, the agency's chief executive, and Jonathan Sedgwick, who as acting chief executive misled the MPs last year, have both apologised and have also been called before the committee. Mr Whiteman "was very clear the borders agency ... had since April 2012 started to tackle the problems," Andrew Lansley, the Leader of the House, told MPs.